Hope's Children
Chapter eight: Contradittorio
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"Is that such a bad thing?"
"No, no, but you sound like you and I, I sound like, like me and therefore I can not, can not sound like you, because, I, I sound like, like me!"
Remus raised an eyebrow at him. "Very smooth, Jamie. I'm going to breakfast. Don't be late."
"I don't sound like him!" James said, before pulling his towel out of his trunk and going into the bathroom.
This chapter
Remus loved school, and it was much more fun now that his friends were back and the school was no longer deserted. He settled back into routine with no trouble, and fell back into the same lie even more easily. It scared him a little. The last year when informed of his 'sick' mother or dead aunt/uncle/cousin/niece/nephew/any other family member he could think of, Sirius and James would pry and question, and try to make it up to him (Sirius had once offered to come to his grandmother's funeral for moral support), but this year, when he told them that his great aunt Millie had died, James only nodded and Sirius (seemingly with out thinking about it) told him to have fun. Shaking his head, Remus set out to the hospital wing.
"Ok, down to business. We know he goes somewhere every month…"
Remus returned early the next morning (a Saturday much to his relief) to find James and Sirius sprawled out and asleep over moon charts and Defense Against the Dark Arts books, ones they most certainly would not need for the assignment. With a gasp, he ran up the stairs.
"James, I think that was Remus."
"What?"
"Remus. I think he just ran upstairs."
"Shit. Well come on, we have to talk with him."
"But we-"
"We have to, otherwise he'll think we're going to hate him or something."
Sirius looked up from his book. He bit his lip, making James chuckle. "What?"
"You bit your lip and it made you look like Rem, now come on."
"All right, all right." Sirius stood up and followed James upstairs.
Remus, still terrified, started frantically throwing things in his trunk, wincing every time he pulled a muscle too hard or banged into anything.
"Ow," he gasped as his ankle hit the corner of his trunk.
"Remus?" Sirius's voice called through the door. "Remus, are you ok?"
"Non si preoccupi, io stanno andando," 1 he said, his trembling voice clogged with tears.
"What!? Why?"
Remus looked up from throwing things into his trunk to see Sirius and James. "Andrò appena, appena soddisfo non dico a, non dico a ogni. Lo lascerò, non preoccupo, appena dimentico e per favore, non dica a prego." 2
"Of course we won't tell," Sirius said, rushing towards him. Remus gasped and curled into a ball, covering his head. "Remus? What's the matter?" Remus didn't look up, only cowered under the feel of Sirius's gaze.
"Nonlo danneggi per per favore," 3 he whispered. "Prego, prometto che li lascerò ancora e mai non importunerò, ma prego non lo danneggio." 4
"Remus?" Sirius bent down and tried to comfort the shaking boy. "Remus, relax, we're not going to hurt you. I promise."
Remus cautiously raised his head and blinked back tears. "What?" he whispered.
"We don't care. And we certainly don't want to hurt you. Relax, come on, Jamie and I will even help you re-unpack."
It was the mark of how serious the situation was that James made no comment on the misuse of his name. Sirius smiled down at Remus and held out a hand to help the still shaking boy up from the floor. "Are you good?" Remus nodded, smiling through his tear stained face.
"Grazie," 5 Remus whispered.
School continued on as normal, though Remus was terrified that James and Sirius would realize their mistake and tell the school. His terrified state was starting to effect his grades before anyone started to notice.
"Remus?"
Remus looked up from his book and swung his legs on to the floor. "Yes, Sirius?"
"Are you worried about something?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Are you sure, because you're slipping." He sat down on the bed next to Remus. "You're not still worried about Jamie and me telling people, are you? Because we won't. I promised and I plan to keep my promise."
Remus tried to smile at him. "You shouldn't call him Jamie, he doesn't like it."
"You need to relax more and just forget about it, we're not going to tell. Nothing changed at all; the only difference is that you don't have to lie to us anymore."
"It's just a bit new, to be around people who know and don't hate me."
"What about your parents?"
"My parents?"
"They don't hate you."
"Of course not. But I've never had friends that knew before."
"You haven't?"
"No. But I do now, and it doesn't matter anyway."
"Nonsense."
Slowly Remus relaxed and became accustomed to his friends knowing about him and his secret. He was having so much fun with his new friends, for he had become so accustomed to not having friends that he had began to withdraw so much that no one really knew anything about him. And now he was so happy; he was helping with everything. Including pranking people.
"Something big, remind the rest of the school we're here and not going anywhere."
"We could… no, that won't work. Or we… no, never mind."
"James!"
"Oh, I've got it… wait, no, never mind."
"James!"
"What?"
"Either tell us what you're talking about or shut up."
"Fine. What if we lock the teachers in the teachers' lounge for the first day?"
"We don't want to interrupt anyone's learning."
"Still the same old Remus."
"Almost. He's worried that we'll betray him."
"Why? Wouldn't we have done it by now if we were planning on doing it?"
"Wouldn't you be? And I'm sitting right here, there's no need to talk as if I'm not in the room."
"Marauder's honor. I'll never tell," James said confidently.
"Marauder's honor? What's that?" Sirius asked.
"It sounds cool, and my mum is always calling me a marauder. I'm not sure what it means."
"Una persona che saccheggia o ruba o è untrustworthy," 6 Remus said, looking at the surprised look on both boys' faces.
"What?" James asked.
"A person who saccheggia 7 or steals or is untrustworthy," Sirius translated for his benefit.
"What's saccheggia 7 mean?"
"It's the same as steal. Only a fancy way of saying it," Remus answered. "Now a marauder's honor is kind of a contradittorio."
"A what?" James asked, looking at Sirius.
Who in turn shrugged. "Do'no mate, it's a big word, not a basic one. Rem?"
"I don't know, if I knew I would have said it in English. Whatever. Your marauder's honor is a good thing, right?"
"Of course. And Siri'll say it too."
Sirius raised his right hand in a mock salute and said: "Marauder's honor, may I be banned from all future pranking if I were to ever disclose a fellow marauder's secret." He lowered his hand and looked at James. "Now you say it."
James looked at him apprehensively. "Ah, marauder's honor, um, may I be, ah banned from all future, ah, pranking if I were to, ah, ever, um, disclose a fellow marauder's secret. There, are you happy Sirius, I said your ridiculous vow."
"Very," Sirius said cheerfully as if James were not nearly as grumpy as he was. "Is that enough for you, Rem?"
Remus, who was laughing at the antics of his friends, stood up solemnly (though he was fighting a smile) and nodded before bursting out laughing again.
1 Don't worry, I'm leaving.
2 I'll leave, just, just please don't tell, tell every one. I'll leave, don't worry, just forget me and please, please don't tell.
3 Don't hurt me, please.
4 Please, I promise I'll leave and never bother you again, but please don't hurt me.
5 Thank you
6 A person who plunders or steals or is untrustworthy.
7 Plunders
A/N I'll have you know that this chapter was not meant to be like this at all. Review on your way out please, oh and the last page and a half of this were greatly inspired by four stories, Man on the Moon, New Moon, Dividing the World, and A Maps Tale. There all by the same person, if you have the time go and read them. Again review on your way out.
Twa
Xandria Nirvana
P.S. cookies and a dedication to the person who tells me what the title means.