Chapter 4: The Date and the Dead
"Third day in a row!" Sirius cried, plopping down in a chair after apparating into the Den's sitting room, "What is with these people?!"
"Welcome to my world," Remus smiled weakly, his voice not without a hint of bitterness.
"They don't even give me a chance! Every interviewer shook her head, every receptionist told me to leave. I was even turned away by some doormen. Doormen!!!"
"So, did you get a job?" Harry smiled. Sirius whacked him over the head with a pillow.
"I think you have to face it, Sirius," Remus said, sighing, "You'll have to look for a muggle job."
"That's just it! I have been," Sirius said, suddenly getting much quieter, "Even they won't consider me. As long as my name's Sirius Black, I'm hopeless."
"I told you that at least once a week at Hogwarts, and you're just realizing it now?"
Sirius looked up at Remus, trying to contain a smile. "I'm trying very hard to be depressed right now, and you're ruining the mood."
"Well, I'm glad then. Nothing good ever came of being depressed, except some very dismal poetry, and since you couldn't write to save your life, being depressed isn't an occupation you should take up."
Sirius shrugged, giving a short laugh. "I wonder if I could teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. That position always seems to be open."
"Not anymore," Remus said firmly, "Catherine's going on her third year, and don't you jinx it. I'd hate for something to happen to her."
"Something always is happening to them, isn't it? Like our first one had that run-in with that stink bomb."
"And the one who swindled all those muggles. Then there was… Well, you know what happened to him," Remus said, looking a little uneasy, "The one after went to Norway and never came back, I hear. Then there was that whole scandal with that other one and the Arithmacy teacher running off together. Then, of course, Harry started, and they didn't have much luck there either. Hey, whatever happened to the one we had in our sixth year?"
Sirius cleared his throat, looking down at his hands with a bit of a grin.
"Oh," Remus said, eyes going a bit wide, "Now I remember. Whew, what an interesting day that was."
"What happened?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Let's just say you shouldn't turn your back on Sirius when he's armed and mad at you."
"Hey, it's not my fault he didn't block it! He was the teacher; he was supposed to be good at defense," Sirius said indignantly, "Besides, he tried to make a fool of me."
"No, no, correction, he did make a fool of you. But that's besides the point. It was your stunt that made him retire."
"He was too old for the job anyways."
"You want to talk old, talk about Professor Binns," Harry smiled.
"Old Pushing Up Daisies Binns is still there?" Sirius asked, amazed, "Well, I guess it's not that surprising. It always did seem his goal to bore as many kids as possible. The most exciting thing he ever did was die. Scared our class out of their minds when he floated through the door. You never expect your teacher to kick the bucket mid-year."
"Wait, he died when you were at Hogwarts?"
"Yes. And I'd never heard a seventh year boy scream so high pitched," Remus smiled, turning to Sirius.
"I wouldn't be talking, Moony. As I remember, you knocked over a few desks in your attempt to get away."
Remus made a face. Suddenly, the old clock on the mantel struck three.
"Oh, we've got to stop doing this," Remus groaned, "I'll be dead on my feet tomorrow at work. Let's get to bed, 'kay? You can have the bathroom first, Harry."
Knowing this meant that he had about thirty seconds before Sirius would be pounding on the door, begging to get to the toilet, Harry hurried upstairs. After quickly getting ready for bed, he came out of the bathroom to find the hallway still dark. A little curious as to why they weren't up there yet, he headed back downstairs. Sirius and Remus' voices floated out of the sitting room, along with the flicking light of the fire in the fireplace. Instead of walking in, Harry listened quietly. He always enjoyed listening in on conversations, at least those about him.
"Harry's right up there with the best of them," Remus was saying, "Very smart."
"James would be so disappointed," Sirius smiled, leaning against the mantelpiece.
"Are you kidding? James was head boy, Sirius. I'd imagine he'd be very pleased."
"I guess. I just never thought of James as smart."
Remus leaned forward in the couch, his elbows on his knees and his hands hanging loosely. "Pigs don't know their pigs."
"What?" Sirius said, laughing but looking very confused.
"You're smart, so James didn't seem smart to you. Just like you were a good flyer, so you could make fun of James' flying. By the way, you've seen Harry fly, right?"
"A bit. He's amazingly good. Better than James ever was, you have to admit that."
"A chaser flies much different than a seeker. But yes, I've never seen anything like it," Remus nodded, leaning back into the cushions.
"He's so much like them, but so different at the same time," Sirius said, "How am I going to do it, Remus? Being a father is hard enough starting out, but hopping in after seventeen years…"
"Sirius," Remus said, smiling a little condescendingly, "You are a great father."
"Not as good as James would have been."
Remus opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
"Do you ever think about them?" Sirius asked, suddenly very focused on the mantel clock.
"All the time," Remus said quietly.
Sirius was silent a moment. "Do you think we should tell him?"
"No," Remus said, shaking his head, somehow knowing exactly what Sirius was talking about, "I agree with Dumbledore. Not until he's eighteen."
"I don't get it," Sirius said, pushing against the mantel, "Why all this secrecy? They're Harry's parents. Doesn't he have a right to know?"
"Yes. But some things are hard to tell. Would you-"
"No, I wouldn't want to be the one to tell him," Sirius admitted, "But I just thought he should know this year, when he joins the Order."
"Harry? Join the resistance?" Remus said slowly, "You're joking, right?"
"Why would I be joking?"
"He's not yet seventeen, Sirius."
"So…" Sirius said, knitting his brow in confusion, "You can't say he's too young. Harry's dealt with more than we have and probably ever will. He's responsible for his age. For any age, in fact. You said yourself that these kids have to face it."
"Face it, yes, but not welcome it. I know it sounds a paradox, but I don't want him to deal with the battle yet. He shouldn't have to grow up so quickly, grow up more than he already has been forced to. Let him be a kid for once."
Harry edged away from the door and silently back up the stairs. He stood at the top of them, staring at the wall. Taking a deep breath, he looked back toward the sitting room.
"I'm done!" he yelled.
"It's about time!" Sirius called back.
"I'm going to bed. Good night!"
"Good night!" two voices returned.
Harry walked into his room, but didn't turn on the light. He silently slid onto his bed, pulling his knees up tight. So they were keeping a secret from him. He wasn't really surprised. All his life he wanted little more than to know about his parents. The Dursleys told him lies. Everyone else simply didn't tell him anything. At least, they wouldn't until he was eighteen.
"Eighteen," he whispered to Hedwig resting in her cage, "I wish that was tomorrow. I wish that was now."
Why the wait? It seemed a touchy subject, but he couldn't imagine why. Should he ask them? Could they avoid the question, or would they finally tell him? Of course, there was a slightly stronger question on his mind:
Did he even want to know?
****
"What?!"
Sirius' eyes went wide. "Whoa, Moony. I asked Catherine Connerly to dinner tonight. What's the problem?"
"Problem?!" Remus groaned, "Sirius, look at this place! I can't let Catherine see it like this!"
"Well, it isn't the cheeriest of places, but I don't see-"
"No time to argue," Remus said, holding up a hand, "Sirius, go to the store and buy…something. You're going to have to cook."
"You kidding? I'll set the house on fire."
"I've got too much cleaning to do to cook."
"I can do it," Harry offered.
Remus and Sirius looked at him, a little surprised.
"I can cook pretty well. I'm one of the best in my class."
"They teach cooking at Hogwarts?" Sirius said incredulously.
"They pamper you," Remus said, shaking his head, "I had to learn the hard way. Well, at least that's something. Harry, check the kitchen. If you need anything more, get Sirius to take you to the store. In the meantime, Sirius, you can start fixing the windows. I'm going to clean."
"You didn't make this much fuss over us," Sirius frowned a bit.
"Well, Catherine is a little different than you two. Now get going! We don't have much time!"
Sirius looked at Remus a little suspiciously, but quickly shook it off and hurried to fix the windows. Harry set off to cooking a good meal, knowing both Sirius and Remus would be anxious for it to be perfect. However, he couldn't get rid of the gnawing in his stomach. Sirius, Remus, and Professor Connerly all in the same room… Sirius was already giving dark looks. There was no telling what might happen.
"That was good, Remus," Connerly said, leaning back in her chair, a now empty plate in front of her.
"I'd like to take credit for it, Catherine, but Harry was the chef for today."
"Really?" she smiled, "Well, I'm impressed, Harry. Someday you'll make someone a very happy wife."
"Thank you, Professor," he said, though going a little red.
"It's 'Catherine' here, Harry. I'm not your teacher right now."
He simply nodded.
"So how's the job hunt, Sirius?" she asked, turning to the man on her right.
"Not so good. I still have little hope of getting anything anytime soon."
They soon were deep in conversation, leaving Harry and Remus fidgeting uneasily.
"I'll clear the table," Remus told no one, standing up and picking up two plates.
Realizing he was left alone, Harry grabbed the other two plates and headed after Remus. He walked into the kitchen, but came to a slow stop. Remus stood in front of the sink, his hands on either side of it and shoulders hunched, his head hanging. Slowly, he looked up out the window, staring blankly outside and not even realizing Harry was there.
"What was I thinking?" he muttered quietly, "How could she prefer me over Mr. Sirius Black. Debonair extraordinaire," he added, giving a half-hearted laugh.
Harry backed out, then walked in again with a lot more noise.
"I thought I'd help you," he said, walking over to Remus.
"Thank you, Harry." Remus tried to smile appreciatively, but his eyes still held pain.
They washed the dishes off in silence. When they reentered the dining room, Professor Connerly was laughing very loudly.
"So there you two are," she smiled as they walked up, "I thought you had gone off and left us."
"Nope, still here," Remus smiled, "Why don't we go into the sitting room?"
"Sure thing," Sirius said, pulling Connerly's chair out so she could get up.
After Remus got them a few drinks, they sat on the couch and armchairs, talking and watching the fire. The topics of conversation flowed easily from one to another, like water in a country brook.
"This room is beautiful, Remus. Did you decorate it, or is it another of Harry's undertakings?" Connerly smiled.
"Nope, this one's my fault."
"Cooking, cleaning, decorating. Remus is just a little homemaker," Sirius laughed, giving Remus a joking shove.
Remus smiled, but Harry recognized the expression on his face. He'd seen it on Ron in his fourth year, the night Harry had been declared a Hogwarts champion and all of Gryffindor was celebrating. Harry suddenly felt very nervous.
However, it wasn't until much later, when Connerly had left, that something happened to be worried about.
"Well, that was fun," Sirius said, flopping onto the couch, "See, Moony? No problem."
Remus didn't answer. He was standing by the mantelpiece, staring into the fire.
"You two were quiet tonight," Sirius commented, trying to get rid of the silence.
"Well, I think you did enough talking for all of us, Sirius," Remus said hollowly, "I especially liked that crack about me being a 'little homemaker'."
"Huh?"
"Nothing…" Remus muttered.
"You said something. Are you mad at me?"
"My, you're sharp."
"What? What'd I do?"
"I'm just going to shut my mouth now before I say something I'll regret."
"Look, you said I did too much talking. I'm not talking now; I'm listening."
"Well, there's always a first now, isn't there?" Remus said, glaring.
Harry bit his lip. Sirius' eyes had just clouded over, and Harry was sure he saw the fire sputter.
"I don't know what your problem is, Remus, but get over it," he growled.
"I have been. For seven years at Hogwarts, I got over it. For three years afterwards, I got over it. I'm sick of getting over it. I've always turned the other cheek, but no more. Sirius, back off!"
Sirius stared at him a moment, looking as though he'd just swallowed a goldfish. Then he blinked, and the anger came back. "Back off what? You're making no sense!"
"You've always got every woman who comes along, but not this time. Catherine is mine!"
"Well, did you ever think she might prefer me over you?"
"You just can't stand that someone might choose me over you," Remus said in a low voice, "Get used to it. You're in the world of outcasts now."
The fire blew out this time. Sirius walked slowly up to Remus until they were standing face to face. The glower on Remus' face didn't waver a bit.
"I may be hopeless," Sirius said in an undertone, "but never call me an outcast. I'm not like you."
To Harry, it felt like the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.
"Okay, Sirius," Remus said quietly, "If you're not an outcast, I guess you shouldn't live like one."
"Maybe I should go then."
"Maybe you should," Remus whispered warningly.
"Fine," Sirius said tersely, "I'll leave tomorrow."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Fine!"
With that, Remus stormed from the room. For a while, Sirius paced up and down the room like a caged lion, then he too tore out of the room. The fire immediately erupted back into life. Harry heard footsteps storming up the stairs, and then the slamming of a door. He just sat there, lost as to what, or more accurately why it had happened.
****
Harry woke up early the next morning; the sun had just come up. He stared at the ceiling for a while before remembering what had happened. Suddenly, he heard a crash from outside his door. He quickly hopped out of bed, yanking it open. There was a suitcase in the hallway.
"Sirius? Remus?" he called out.
Sirius suddenly came out of his bedroom, another suitcase in his hand. He looked slightly frazzled and had circles under his eyes.
"Harry, glad you're up. Get packing, we have to go."
Harry couldn't believe it. "Sirius, this is stupid. We're not leaving over a fight."
"It's not that," Sirius said, shaking his head, "Remus and I have…business to take care of. I've talked with the Weasleys and they said they'd be happy to have you over for the rest of the summer. I'm sorry it's so quick, but we just got the owl this morning."
Harry blinked slowly. "What?"
"Just pack. We have to go soon."
In about a half hour, all three men were packed and ready. Sirius and Remus were still on edge, not speaking to each other if they could help it, but it didn't stop them from getting things done quickly.
"Harry, you'll take the floo powder. I'll meet you there. Remus is going on ahead," Sirius said, slightly inclining his head to the man behind him.
After an uncomfortable trip through the floo system, holding tight to his trunk, Harry burst into the Burrow's living room, barely managing to stay standing. Dusting off his robes, he looked around at the familiar room. It had changed little since the last time he'd seen it. The same knickknacks and books covered the mantel and shelves, the same old frumpy furniture around the wobbly coffee table. It was strangely quiet, though, but what could he expect so early in the morning.
"Harry, dear," said a cheery voice.
He quickly looked up and saw the welcoming figure of Mrs. Weasley standing in her nightgown. Harry didn't know why he did it, but the next thing he knew he'd rushed over to her, being enveloped in her warm, comforting embrace.
"It's so great to see you," he murmured.
"The pleasure is all mine," she said quietly, "I'm afraid no one else is up yet. Fred and George are staying over for a while."
"Great."
With a sudden 'pop!', Sirius appeared in the living room.
"Hello, Molly," Sirius said, giving her a hug.
"It's nice to see you, Sirius."
"I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but with the rush-"
"You don't need to explain here, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley said, holding up a hand, "I understand."
Sirius nodded, smiling. "Well, Harry, I have to go. I hope you have a good summer."
"I will, Sirius. Good-bye."
"Good-bye," Sirius said, hugging his godson.
He disappeared with the same 'pop!'
"Well, Harry, want to get to bed?"
"No, I'm not tired."
"Well, how about a cup of tea and some breakfast?"
"That'd be nice."
So Harry and Mrs. Weasley talked while she cooked. She had just finished the eggs and bacon when down the stairs stumbled a tall, redheaded figure, his eyes squinting in the bright sunlight of the kitchen. He stopped at the foot of the stairs, peering into kitchen with a perplexed look on his tired face. He looked first at Harry, then his eyes slowly traveled to Mrs. Weasley, then back to Harry.
"Harry?" Ron finally said, his voice hoarse with sleep.
"Hey, Ron," he smiled.
Ron squinted at him again, cocking his head to the side. "Were you here last night?"
"He came this morning, honey," Mrs. Weasley said, guiding him to the table.
"Oh. Okay. Hey, Harry."
Ron was slowly becoming alert when two other figures came down the stairs, looking as worse for the wear as their younger brother.
"What's going on? Why are you up so early?" George mumbled, sitting at the table with his eyes still shut. His glasses were perched precariously on his nose, and Harry was sure they'd fall to the ground at any moment.
"It's Harry," Fred yawned, his long hair sticking up any place it pleased.
"Looks like a couple of rats decided to build a nest on top of your head, Fred," Harry said with a laugh.
"Ah, shut-up," Fred smiled, ruffling Harry's own untidy mane.
"How's your summer been?" Ron asked.
Harry summed it up pretty quick, though using something more creative than, "Okay." When Mr. Weasley came down, he was already dressed and fully aware of the visitor that had arrived that morning. The rest of the day was uneventful. That is, uneventful for the Weasley household. It was always lively to Harry.
It wasn't until a few weeks later that something anomalous happened. Since Fred and George stayed in their room and Harry was less than eager to sleep in the other two now vacated bedrooms, he slept in a sleeping bag on Ron's bedroom floor. It was there one night, those many days later, that Harry sat up late, thinking. He hadn't gotten a letter from Sirius in a while. It was understandable, especially if they had to be careful about giving away their position. In a way, Harry was glad he wasn't part of it all. He'd always thought he had more than his share of troubles, but Sirius and Remus seemed to have bucket loads more.
Suddenly a dim light went on. It surprised Harry, for he thought Ron was fast asleep. He lifted his head slightly, wondering what was keeping the boy up. What he saw made his blood freeze. Over his friend's bed leaned a…a figure. Though his vision was blurred through lack of glasses, there was no mistaking that the glowing light of bluish-white was shaped as a human.
"Ron…" he whispered hoarsely, "Ron…"
No movement came from the bed, but the glowing figure seemed to have heard him, for it turned his way. Harry felt his heart leap into his throat as slowly, almost cautiously, the figure started walking toward him.
"Ron!" he tried to yell as his hand scrambled for his glasses, but his voice failed him.
As the being got closer and its features more distinct, Harry got a sinking feeling that he recognized it. His hand finally snatched up his glasses and he thrust them on just as the figure reached toward him.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
With a swiftness that surprised even himself, Harry tumbled out of his sleeping bag and leapt up. His feet did their own thinking and dashed him through the nearest door, only wanting to get away from…that.
"Harry?" Ron called, switching on a light, "Harry?"
"In-in here," came a slightly high-pitched voice.
With a mixture of curiosity and confusion, Ron opened the bathroom door.
"Uh, might I ask why you ran into the bathroom screaming?" he said, smiling slightly, "You didn't have to go that bad, did you?"
Harry, however, wasn't in a joking mood. "Did you see him?"
"No. Who?"
"Percy."
"What?"
"It was a ghost," Harry said, taking a deep breath, "Percy's ghost."
~*~*~
A/N: *dramatic music plays* Dun, dun, dun! Bet ya didn't see that coming!
I know, I know. Many of you are probably gonna say, "But James was a seeker!" Well, JKR once said in an interview that he was a chaser, and so I stick to that, no matter what the movie said.
Also, please no comments about Sirius and Remus' fight being a lovers' quarrel. It wasn't. Period. Some people! Exclamation point. Who knows? Question mark. New paragraph. (Guess who's been watching Golden Girls again? ^_^)
And I'm pleased to announce my muse came back by the start of school term! Apparently she only likes to hit me w/ inspiration in the middle of math class, not when I'm sitting at the computer ready to write. ^_^
Well, thank you all for the great reviews! (Not that the last chapter deserved them…)
Kelly: Ah, don't hate cliffies. What'd they ever do to you? ^-^ Thanks!Jeanne: It's that Allisonitis disease, I swear! ^_^ Heehee! Thanks, Jess!
John: Thanks!
Mrs. Grim: Exactly! I even wrote a poem about how if my story stinks, blame my muse, but if it's great, blame me. ^_^ Very handy people, er, things, those muses. Thanks!
Sandrine Black: Thanks, Sandrine!
Raven of Death: Happy (belated) Birthday!!! Hope your exams went well. Don't you just love those things? (Notice how my voice is dripping with sarcasm…) Ooh, Krispy Kremes… Don't make me hungry!!! *laughs* Thanks!
Dumbledore's True Love: Sh! Not telling. ~_^ Happy New Year to you, too! (even though it's getting near mid-January…) I thought of having him get hit by the car, but decided I was too lazy. :P Thanks!
abbey: Heeheehee… Hey, there's always room for a sequel. ^-^ Thank you!
SuNnY GuRL: *grins* Thank you!
Nallen Riddle: Thanks!
owlbook2000: Yeah, I've got a lot of work to do on this fic. Ah, don't even try to teach me England English! I'll never learn. ^_^ And you'll never be able to make me call a sweater a jumper! (I wore cutesy pink polka-dotted jumpers as a child, so I try not picturing Harry in one. ^_^) Thanks for the review!
Julia: Thanks! And Harry's not necessarily fashionly ignorant. He just wore his cousin's old clothes for all his life. (Need I remind you of the brown sweater with orange puffballs? *shudders*)
Princess: *mwa-ha-ha* No telling when (or if) we'll find out who that guy was… Thanks! ^-^
Rachy: Thanks, Rachy!
Lady Aquila: Thank you!
Lupin's Niece AJ: Ha, thanks!
yerbroham: *falls off chair laughing* Oh, sure. I dedicate a chapter to you, and you complain about the fact it has a toilet scene. *grins* I literally burst out laughing when I read that. Ah, thanks, I liked that line, too. ^-^ *blushes a Weasley red* I'll just cut any attempts at being modest and say THANK YOU!!! ^_^
jona: Barney? What's a barney? (other than a big purple dinosaur, of course. ^_^) Thanks, and yes, the more of your fics, the merrier! ^_^ Mm, reading…I think I'll take your advice on that one, doctor. ^-^
Sophie Black: Thank you! You're English is very good. It's a hard enough language to learn as a first language, but as a second… I applaud you! I just wish I could speak French, but I can't. I learned Spanish instead. ^_^
sweets: *gapes* You…you signed in? O.O *grins* Thanks!
Mandy: Thanks, Mandy! And never, I repeat, NEVER call your stories dumb! That's rule number one in my creative writing class at school. You'd be surprised. Many of the people in that class say their stories are dumb, but when they read them out loud to the class, they're excellent! Have confidence, and keep writing!
princess: Thanks! I'm writing more whenever school allows time. ^_^
Starry Night: Heehee, nope, can't tell. (To tell the truth, I'm not even positive myself, though I have an idea…) Thanks!
Well, thank you all! I love reading reviews so much, and I'm glad you take the time to read and tell me what you think of my work!
Until next time, be excellent to each other!
-Ady