Lupin looked satisfied as the house came into existence to them, but he had a sudden look of age that greater defined the lines in his face, as if the mere appearance of this place were enough to make him depressed. He and Harry made their way towards the front door but Lupin paused before entering.
"Is everything all right, Professor?" Harry asked, uncertainly. Lupin may not still be his Professor, but it was a title that had stuck from his third year at Hogwarts.
"I suppose so… No matter, no matter," Lupin said, not making much sense at all. "Yes… Dead, dying, all the same… No matter, no matter…"
Harry eyed Lupin in apprehension. Had the fall of Sirius affected Lupin's mind so drastically? Naw; he wouldn't have been allowed to come for me if he were mental… Would he?
"Er, Professor Lupin," Harry tried, louder this time, "perhaps we should go in?" He was saying it all into Lupin's ear as if he were deaf because the werewolf wasn't responding.
Lupin physically started, looking at Harry. He seemed to remember something, so he opened the door, motioning for Harry to enter.
Harry clearly remembered the portrait of Sirius's mother, including how she would howl about filth inside her father's house, so he was as quiet as possible as he entered.
"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley whispered. "So good that you're finally here. Ron and Hermione are upstairs in the same room as before."
Harry nodded, taking this as a sign to leave the room. He tiptoed over to the staircase, making his way up as quietly as possible, partly so as to not wake up the portrait, and partly in hopes of over-hearing Mrs. Weasley's conversation with Lupin. It worked. He half smiled to himself… perhaps this would be some indicator to what was going on.
"Are you all right, Remus?" Mrs. Weasley was asking.
"Hmm… No matter, no matter," he responded vaguely. He gave Harry the odd impression that he couldn't fully hear what Mrs. Weasley was saying, that or he was blocking her out, purposely. But hadn't he just been fine when he was picking Harry up?
"Remus, snap out of it!" She said it in a loud whisper, just loud enough so that the curtains over Sirius's mother's portrait ruffled themselves, as if to be torn apart to expose the gruesome painting. "What's wrong?" She asked it in a slightly gentler tone.
Harry paused on the steps, interested in this conversation.
"I will kill him with my bare hands, if I have to." He said it so quietly that Harry had to strain his ears in order to hear it properly.
"Who?" Mrs. Weasley was startled at hearing the usually tame Lupin making death threats.
Remus wouldn't say, and he just left to another part of the house, the words he mumbled un-heard by Harry and, by the looks of it, Mrs. Weasley as well.
Molly shook her head in confusion; the death of Sirius hadn't done anything good, in her opinion. She glanced up the staircase, giving Harry a sharp look for lingering, causing him to triple his speed up the stairs. Harry was just glad that he was Harry because Mrs. Weasley seldom, if ever, got truly angry with him.
Soon enough, he found the room with Ron and Hermione. He walked in, to be bombarded by a human with bushy brown hair emitting squealing noises of joy. Ron controlled himself far better than Hermione and he stood back for a moment.
"Glad you're back, mate!" was all that Ron really said, as it was all that could be heard over Hermione.
Hermione stepped back. "You haven't done anything yet, have you?" She asked it anxiously.
Harry just shook his head. He glanced over at Ron, wondering whether or not he knew.
"Yeah, I know," Ron verified, as if reading Harry's mind.
To change the subject Harry quickly asked, "What's wrong with Lupin? He's acting kind of… odd."
His friends' faces darkened.
"Well, mate, we think that he just cracked after what happened to Sirius." Ron looked thoughtful. "It's kind of like what Peeves said before Lupin shoved that gum up his nose: Loony, Loopy Lupin."
Hermione frowned at Ron's assessment. "He hasn't cracked, Ron. He's just experiencing an emotional traumatic experience, is all, and he's not exactly comprehensible at times. But, other than that, he's just fine."
"Yeah, so what I said, he's cracked," Ron replied.
"He is not cracked, Ron!"
"Your definition suggests that you are."
"And what do you mean by that?" Hermione's eyes were flaring, daring Ron to answer.
"No one understands alien, Hermione, and obviously you speak it. What the heck do you mean by 'experiencing an emotional traumatic experience,' anyways?"
Hermione sighed heavily. "He's suffering with coming to terms that Sirius is really gone. It must be hard, to have outlived all of your friends when you aren't particularly old, now mustn't it?"
"I guess," Ron admitted. "But you could have just said that."
"I did say that."
"Not like that, you didn't."
It seemed as if they had forgotten Harry, so he stepped in. "He seemed just fine when he was picking me up but then he started to go a little creepy at the doorstep. He kept on saying No matter, no matter…"
Hermione seemed intrigued. "Really? He was acting just fine when he was picking you up?"
"Yeah."
"Interesting… It could be that he's only effected by this house and other places that have a strong memory of Sirius," Hermione explained excitedly.
"He was also saying I'll kill him with my bare hands, if I have to," Harry remembered. "But he said that to your mum," he nodded to Ron, "when he was saying it."
"Weird," Ron said.
Hermione furrowed her brow. "Oh dear… This can mean only one thing…"
"Would you mind to just explain, instead of making us guess?" Ron asked with mock politeness.
Hermione scowled at him. "He must be planning on going after Peter Pettigrew, isn't it obvious? He was responsible for everyone."
Harry nodded slowly, understanding suddenly coming. "Yeah… Now there's just him and he wants to get rid of Peter for revenge, or something, right?"
Hermione nodded gravely. "That wouldn't be a very good idea," she said.
"Well, he is just a rat that cares only about himself," Ron pointed out.
"But that's no reason to just become a murderer. That's sinking down to his level," Harry explained.
"Harry, don't you realize the other important thing about this?" Hermione asked, eyes widened at how Harry could possibly forget.
"What?"
"He owes his life to you. That could come in handy some day, perhaps against Voldemort!" She said the name with a small grind of her teeth, but she had come to accept that she would have to use it. "After all, there might be some point when you're facing Voldemort when only he can help you. I mean, he is his most faithful servant," Hermione elaborated.
"Oh, yeah." Harry had, in truth, forgotten all about that. He didn't want any kind of connection like that to the man who sold out his parents to Voldemort; much less thank him for saving him and the wizarding world.
"Harry," Ron interjected, "when do you plan on doing," he looked towards the door, "it?"
"I'm thinking that I might not be able to until this whole thing with Lupin is resolved," Harry said.
"I think that you should go anyways," Hermione disagreed.
"Why?" Ron asked along with Harry.
"Because Harry needs to get this out of his system," Hermione said simply. "I would even go as far as to suggest tonight."
Harry gaped for a moment but he realized what she was saying. It was true that he could become an anathema to them, if he did not vent this out. He shuddered as he realized what a state he would probably go into if he constantly believed that Sirius was still out there, torn between not knowing if he were dead or not. He didn't like to picture it.
"Yeah, you're probably right," Harry admitted. He suddenly felt the weight of the Time Turner around his neck and the full reason for why he was going to do this in only a matter of hours.