Changing Times
By Neurotica
Chapter Four: Werewolves in the Library
Harry arrived in the temporary quarters for the Marauders and Lily at lunch the next day. Though he still found it quite odd that his teenage parents, godfather, professor, and Wormtail were at the school, he was enjoying spending time with him.
After the scene in the Pensieve the year before, Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know his father at all, regardless of what Lupin and Sirius had said. As time went on, however, Harry found James was actually a nice guy. A little loud at times, but nice.
"So, Harry," Sirius said thickly through his sandwich. "What's your story?'
The question was random; two minutes before they'd been discussing Quidditch. Needless to say, Harry was startled. "Uh, well," he said, trying to think of what to say. Dumbledore hadn't told him what he could and could not tell the five teenage time travelers. He decided to be as vague as possible. "I live with my aunt and uncle," he began.
"Why?" James asked curiously.
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Professor Lupin's entrance into the room saved him. "Ah, there you are, Harry. Hello, everybody," Professor Lupin greeted cheerfully. It was the first time Harry had ever seen him that happy.
"Hi," they all said.
"Can I call you 'Professor Moony'?" Sirius asked.
"No," both Lupins said in unison. It was as if there was an echo in the room.
"Yeah, that's sort of weird," Sirius said with a raised eyebrow, looking between the two Lupins.
Lupin grinned. "I've just come by to tell you that the headmaster has scheduled you a Potions lesson for tomorrow afternoon. You'll have Defense this afternoon," the professor said.
"Moony, we're going to be taught by you. Don't let us down, mate," James muttered to the younger Lupin.
"Shut up, Prongs," Remus said with a grin. "Or I'll give you detention."
James looked at the older Lupin in question. The professor nodded. "Listen to me, James," he said.
"Padfoot, that's more than sort of weird," James muttered.
"Told you," Sirius said.
"Dumbledore's mental," Harry said, shaking his head.
"Here, too, eh?" Sirius grinned. "Always loved that man, in a paternal sort of way."
"So who's the Potions Master here? Is it still Slughorn?" Lily asked.
"Er, no," Lupin said. "He retired about a year before you…. Well, a while ago. You know, Harry, I think you're right; Dumbledore is mental for scheduling them for Potions."
Harry nodded. "Well, I have to get to Transfiguration, or McGonagall will skin me alive."
"Minnie's still around?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, and she still doesn't like to be called 'Minnie', Sirius," Professor Lupin said sternly, though his eyes were twinkling in a Dumbledore-ish sort of way.
Harry left the room, leaving the professor with the teenagers.
"What's the future like, Professor… er, Remus, er," Lily stuttered, not sure what to call him.
"How about we just stick with 'professor' for the moment, Lily? It will take some of the confusion out of this," Professor Lupin said, glancing at his younger self. Remus was "reading" – his eyes weren't moving across the page. He looked interested in the question. "The future is… different," he answered honestly.
"How so?" Peter asked interestedly.
Professor Lupin had to remind himself over and over again that this was not the same Peter who betrayed them. Something between seventh year and just before Harry's birth had changed him. "Well, Wor – er, Peter, for one, there is a new joke shop in Diagon Alley," Remus said, trying to lighten the situation.
"Wicked," James said grinning.
"Grow up," Lily said, rolling her eyes.
"Do Evans and Prongs ever get together?" Sirius asked, eyeing the two suggestively.
Professor Lupin chuckled as James raised his eyebrows at Lily. "Not a chance in hell, Potter," she said flatly.
Lupin cleared his throat slightly. "Actually, Lily…" he trailed off, nodding his head.
The reaction was priceless. James and Sirius high-fived one another, while the look on Lily's face was one neither Lupin would ever forget. She looked disgusted, shocked, horrified, and sick to her stomach, all within a span of a few seconds.
"Excuse me," she said, running off to the bathroom.
"And something for you, Remus," Lupin said quietly to the boy while the others continued to laugh. Remus lowered his book and raised his eyebrows in question. Lupin never realized how quiet he had been during school. "In about ten years, there will be a Lycanthropic break through. It's a potion, the Wolfsbane, and it will make the full moons much easier."
"Really?" Remus replied, a smile growing on his young face. "Wicked…"
Once things had calmed a bit, and Lily returned – sitting as far away from James as possible – the conversation turned to something Lupin was hesitant to speak about.
"We're still friends, right?" James said gesturing to the Marauders. "I mean, you see us all the time when you're not teaching, don't you?"
Lupin bit his lip at the same time Remus did. It was a habit he (er, they) picked up when he got nervous. "Actually, James, I haven't seen you in fifteen years," he said sadly.
"Why?" James asked, looking between his friend and Lupin.
Lupin hesitated. "We probably shouldn't get into this at the moment, but… let's just say, it's a dream come true to see you all sitting here." The teenagers smiled. Remus' brow furrowed in confusion.
"Well, I have a class to teach–" Sirius snickered; both Lupins glared at him. "I'll see you guys later tonight."
"Alright, Moony?" James asked, sitting beside his friend after their Defense lesson. It had been the best lesson any of them could remember experiencing.
"Something's not right," Remus said quietly.
"It doesn't take a werewolf to figure that out," James smirked, ruffling his hair. "We're in the bloody future!" Remus didn't seem to be enjoying the joke. "Okay, Moony, I'll bite: what's not right?"
"The way I – the older me, I mean – was acting today. He hadn't seen you in fifteen years. Why is that?" Remus said, watching Sirius and Peter play Exploding Snap.
James shrugged. "Maybe we just… drifted apart," he said regretfully.
"No, that's not it. Something happened fifteen years ago. Something bad. You could see it in his eyes," Remus said. "And he was looking at Peter oddly, too."
"Everybody looks at Peter oddly, Remus," James said. "I look at Peter oddly. You look at Peter oddly."
"I don't know…" Remus said. "I think I might do some investigating tonight. Can I borrow the cloak?"
"Sure," James said, wondering what was going on in his friend's head. He never went out at night without one or more of the other Marauders with him.
With James' trusty Invisibility Cloak and the newly created Marauder's Map in hand, Remus crept through the Hogwarts corridors later that night. He was heading to a place he could find with his eyes closed: the library.
Dumbledore and his older self were in the headmaster's study, probably discussing the five time travelers. The rest of his path was clear.
Silently, he entered the library. He was pleased to see a vast array of new books on the shelves. He'd have to sneak back in before they left and check a few of them out. Since he spent most of his time in the library, Remus knew exactly where Madam Pince kept the Daily Prophet archives. He sorted through them until he found the year marked '1981'.
On the top of the stack was a photo of Frank and Alice Longbottom. They'd been tortured into insanity by Voldemort's followers just days after the Dark Lord disappeared.
"Voldemort disappeared? When did that happen?" Remus muttered.
Moving a few archives back, Remus found was he supposed he was looking for. "Bloody hell," he muttered in horror. "No way… there's no possible way," he said, reading through the articles in the paper. He magically made copies of the articles and put the newspapers back in their proper spots. He folded the copies and placed them safely in the pockets of his robes.
Shaking, he picked up the Marauders Map and examined it. He jumped a foot in the air when he saw the dot labeled Remus Lupin standing right behind his own dot labeled Remus Lupin. He turned to face his older self. "Er, hello," he said awkwardly.
"Hello," Lupin said calmly. "What are you looking for this late at night?"
Knowing it wouldn't be wise to lie to himself – as weird as that sounds – Remus slowly pulled out the copies and handed them to Lupin.
Lupin didn't have to look at anything but the date to know what Remus had been doing. Both Lupins held impassive looks on their faces as they stared at one another. "Do us both a favor," Lupin said quietly. "Keep this to yourself for the time being. There are some things I need to explain, and it's too late tonight to begin."
"He betrayed them," Remus said, through gritted teeth. "He killed them…"
"No, you don't understand. Please, don't show this to the others tonight. Tomorrow, I will explain everything. Please," Lupin said pleadingly.
It was surreal to see the sincerity in his elder self. James had told him before that he could tell when Remus was lying by looking him in the eyes; he'd never realized how true it was before now. "Okay," Remus agreed, wanting to hear what the whole story was. "But tomorrow, we find out everything."
Lupin hesitated, but nodded. "Deal," he said, sticking out his own had to shake… his own hand…
"Now I suggest you go back. There are a few professors who have yet to be informed of your presence. And, though I look forward to seeing his reaction, this isn't a good night for that sort of surprise."
Remus raised an eyebrow, causing the elder Lupin to laugh the first real laugh he'd emitted in months. "Sirius was right," Lupin said, laughter still in his voice. "I do look like a professor with that eyebrow."
