Thanks to reviewers, I love you guys so much! The song in this chapter belongs to Nickelback and is called Never Again. The lyrics are in italics. As always they all belong to J.K Rowling, except Jen, I'll take credit for her. Enjoy!
Remus' POV
It's been nearly a month since I last saw Sirius and its been hell. He writes to me almost daily but it's not the same as having him here. I miss his voice and his lips and his laugh. In every letter he asks how I am. I tell him that I'm fine and make my answers as vague as I can. I feel awful when I reply because I'm not giving him the absolute truth. I don't want him to know what he does to me or what he does to her. It's better that way.
He's drunk again, it's time to fight
She must have done something wrong tonight
The living room becomes a boxing ring
It's time to run when you see him clenching his hands
She's just a woman…never again
The full moon was two nights ago and I'm exhausted. Without Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail I beat myself up rather badly this month. To make matters worse he came home drunk the next day.
By 'he' I mean my father. Ever since I was bit on a camping trip with my mother he's been different. At first my parents tried to find a cure but over the course of a few years they realized that it was a hopeless search. Shortly after that my father lost his job at the Ministry and got one at a local tavern as a bartender.
Ever since that day things have been terrible. Almost every night he comes home at midnight drunk and ready for a fight. Both my mother and I get this abuse for he blames both of us for his problems. When he's not drunk (which is a rare occurrence) he looks at me with a mixture of fear and loathing that I can't stand.
I hear her scream from down the hall
Amazing she can even talk at all
She cries to me…"go back to bed"
I'm terrified that she'll wind up dead in his hands
She's just a woman…never again
Been there before but not like this
Seen it before but not like this
Never before have I ever seen it this bad
She's just a woman…never again
It's bad tonight; worse than I've seen it in a while. It seems like it's my mothers turn tonight. I bring my hand up to my face to feel the fresh hand shaped bruise that I obtained last night. While in school I cover these tokens from my friends with a concealing charm until they heal, but here that would just make it worse.
Both my parents are wizards but of Muggle descent. My father was a Hufflepuff, my mother a Ravenclaw. My father has always said that if it wasn't for his heritage he would have been a Slytherin and I believe that with all my heart. My mother was at the top of her class; my father barely passed.
I think that deep down my mother still loves him as I do. Even if he is terrible he's still my father. I think that this is one of the reasons why were still here with him. If I try very hard I can still remember the time when we were a happy and loving family, that was before the bite and before the drinking started. Those times are long gone now.
Just tell the nurse you slipped and fell
It starts to sting as it starts to swell
She looks at you…she wants the truth
It's right out there in the waiting room with those hands
Lookin' just as sweet as he can…never again
Seen it before but not like this
Been there before but not like this
Never before have I ever seen it this bad
She's just a woman…never again
I remember once in the beginning he took her to St. Mungo's. I think that then he still could feel guilt for what he does to us. He had beaten her that night but the wounds were inconspicuous enough to pass off for a bad fall. I remember the look that the nurse gave me that night more than anything. I was too afraid to say anything for he had warned me not to, but I think that she knew. I wonder now if I had said something that day if we would be in this mess now.
My father has always liked destructive things. He was the kind of child who killed birds with a sling-shot. Now as an adult he beats his wife and child. He has not, however, lost his passion for killing animals. Therefore it's not surprising that we have a loaded gun on our coffee table.
Father's a name you haven't earned yet
You're just a child with a temper
Haven't you heard "don't hit a lady"
Kickin' your ass would be a pleasure
Sirius' POV
"I'm worried about him," I say to James as we lay in our respective beds, "his letters are too vague. There's got to be something wrong."
"If you ask me your being a bit overprotective," he says, "but if you're really worried I suppose that you can take my broom."
I smile and say, "Thanks James. You're the best." Then I'm off.
I fly as fast as I can to Remus' house. From the maps that I've looked at and the descriptions that Remus has given me I find the house after about only an hour and a half of flying. I've missed him so much this last month that all I want to do is hold him. I decide that if I want that I should just find his room and fly there instead of bothering with the front door and having to meet his parents. Besides it's approaching one a.m.
I find the appropriate window and slide in onto the sill. "Remus," I whisper into the poorly lit room.
"Sirius," I can hear him answer, "is…is that you?"
"Yes," I reply. Then I'm in the room and my werewolf is in my arms; his lips pressed to mine. When we finally pull apart I say, "Let's get some more light in here Moony I want to see you." I light some candles with my wand but he shrinks away from the light.
"Moony?" I ask but he shrinks farther into the shadows. "Remus come here," I say as sternly as I can. Hesitantly he steps out of the shadows. Instantly I can see why he shied away. One side of his perfect face is marred by a massive hand shaped bruise.
I'm instantly filled with anger. Who would do something like this to my sweet Remus? "Who did this to you?" I ask through clenched teeth.
"My father," he says; his whispered answer barely audible.
"How long has he been hurting you?" I ask.
"Since I was seven," is the reply. Suddenly a scream rents the tension thick air. "Mum," he murmurs as he quickly leaves the room. I follow and almost run into him at the end of the hall.
We are stopped at the top of the stairs looking down at the horrific scene bellow. I watch Remus' face contort in sorrow and anger as he watches. I can tell that he wants to protect his mother but it would be useless. This man is twice as big as the petit boy at least.
Then something snaps. We watch as she grabs a gun (at least I think that's what it's called) and shoot her abuser in the head. Blood immediately gushed out and they both collapse.
He's drunk again, it's time to fight
Same old shit just on a different night
She grabs the gun, she's had enough
Tonight she'll find out how fuckin' tough is this man
Pulls the trigger fast as she can…never again
Seen it before but not like this
Been there before but not like this
Never before have I ever seen it this bad
She's just a woman…never again
I race down the stairs pulling a very shocked Remus with me. When we arrive Mrs. Lupin is awakening. My days of reading countless mystery novels has been kicked into full drive. Remus is kneeling next to his mother muttering to himself. I have seen enough to know what must be done. "Remus do you have a pair of gloves and a clean rag?" I ask.
He looks at me strangely and asks, "Why?"
"If you don't want your mum to go to Azkaban then we need to make this look like an accident." He looks at me strangely and I say, "Too many mystery novels as a child." He fetches them for me and I slip on the gloves and take the gun from Mrs. Lupin's hand. Carefully I wipe the gun clean of all finger prints and gently place the gun in the late Mr. Lupin's hand. "This was an accident," I say. "He was cleaning the gun and it accidentally discharged. Got that? I'm going floo the Ministry now." They look at me rather blankly and nod.
"I'm going to place a concealing charm on these bruises okay? We don't need to let anyone think that you had a motive."
When the Ministry people arrive I give them a quick and rather changed version of Mr. Lupins' death. After a quick conversation it is decided that it would be best if both Remus and his mother stayed with the Potters for a few days so that things could be cleaned up.
We arrive to a rather sleepy but informed Mr. and Mrs. Potter and a worried James. Mrs. Potter ushers us all into the kitchen and starts bustling around making tea immediately. I've never understood why people make tea when something bad has happened but Mrs. Lupin looks very grateful for it.
"I think that you boys should get to bed," says Mrs. Potter suddenly. "I'll set up another bed in James' room for you Remus." Her voice and face soften when she looks at him in a way that touches me deeply. This is one of the reasons that I love Mrs. Potter and envy James so much for having her; she has met Remus and his mother only a few brief times but already she has taken them under her motherly wing. "Lucy you can sleep in the guest room, I'm sure that you're both tired."
We allow ourselves to be herded up the stairs; Remus moving rather woodenly. "Go to sleep soon boys," calls Mrs. Potter as she leaves us to our own devices.
"You can have the bed if you want Remus," says James quietly, "it's bigger." He winks at us. For the first time since his father's death Remus' face leaves its deadpan expression and a small smile graces his face.
Then suddenly he says, "Siri take the spell off I think that James needs to know." I look at him questioningly but do it anyway. James gasps in surprise at the gruesome sight before him and sits down abruptly on the bed. Remus and I follow and sit together at the opposite end.
"As you can probably see my Father wasn't the nicest person in the world," he starts. "Since I was seven he's been hurting my mother and I. Tonight he went a bit too far. My father didn't die in an accident; my mother shot him in self defense." With this he gets up and heads abruptly for the bathroom leaving a very shocked James in his wake.
When he comes back he heads to the bed that we have since vacated and gets in. He pulls the covers up to his chin and faces away from us. James and I exchange a look before moving to the bed. Gently I pry the covers down and turn him around. In his eyes I can see the unshed tears that he's trying so hard not to let fall.
I gently gather him in my arms and hold him close to me. "It's okay to cry," I whisper in his ear. And he does. Huge, convulsive sobs shake his thin shoulders as I hold him close to me. "Shhh," I whisper, "It's alright. He was bad to you. He hurt you. It's better this way."
"B…but he was still m…my father," he sobs into my shoulder. "He l…loved me once. I…if it wasn't for that damn werewolf we…we'd have been fine." I pull the emotional boy closer and rub his back. He's never spoken of that fateful day before. "I…I still l…loved him."
Eventually the sobs are reduced to deep shuddering breaths that wrack his body yet come farther and farther apart with every minute. "I'm being stupid," he whispers finally.
"No you're not," says James from the foot of the bed, "this has to be really hard on you. I think that I'd be worried if you didn't cry a bit."
I wipe some errant tears from his face with my thumb. "You're the strongest person I know Remus," I whisper to him.
Shortly after that James' breathing evens out. Remus follows him shortly. I sigh and pull him down with me before I surrender to the blackness of sleep. I have my angel back with me. His wings are a bit damaged but I think that he'll mend.
Third Person POV
Lucy Lupin and Eleanora Potter sit at the Potters kitchen table nursing luke-warm cups of tea. Mr. William Potter has long since gone to bed for he has to go to work in the morning. When Sirius undid the spell to uncover Remus' injuries, Lucy's were also revealed. For the past half an hour the two women have been having a very interesting conversation which has finally lead to the confession of the late Mr. Lupins' murder.
Eleanora does not blame Lucy in the least and in this time the two women have forged the beginnings of a solid friendship. "You must be tired," says Eleanora, "shall we check the boys and get you to bed?"
Lucy smiles tiredly and says, "Yes that sounds like an excellent idea." So, the two women make their way upstairs and into James' room.
In the room they find all three boys fast asleep on James' bed. "Come on dear," whispers Eleanora to James. She as quietly as possible helps the sleepy boy to one of the camp beds where he immediately falls asleep again. The mother gently pulls a blanket over her son before kissing him goodnight on the forehead.
She then moves to the two remaining boys. When she tries to move Remus from the tangle of Sirius' arms, however, he just clutches to the other boy tighter.
"Might as well just leave them," says Lucy as she crosses the room. "I'm glad that he's even asleep. He normally doesn't get much." Eleanora pulls a blanket over the entwined pair and Lucy kisses her son on the forehead.
Eleanora shows Lucy to her room and then leaves for her own. In her room Lucy Lupin snuggles down under the soft covers it is now that the tears come. Thankfully she soon falls into a deep and dreamless sleep.
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