LINER NOTES:

I only have a couple of minutes, so I'm only answering reviews real quick and then off to posted story-land!

Yulara: Whassup? (I'm grounded again . . . what else isn't new?) Yes, the idea of Severus-with-hateful-father-and-no-mother is somewhat overused and yes, I gave you that idea, but just think . . . I just started planning a story, aided by a million magazine articles about Star Wars, in which his parents turn out to have been siblings and didn't know it until after he was born . . . along with three siblings of his own . . . -snicker- I'm evil!

ThePurpleEmperor: Severus, mushy? NEVER! -gasps in horror- I just wanted to show a bit of why he hates his past so much.

Camille: Yours is my favorite review, so this chapter is dedicated to you and your friend! (guess why it's my fave . . .LOL) I hope you like this chapter, too!

DewNymph: Hello there, I'm glad you like it! Yes. . .trees are fun. One thing though: Harry's "Master" thesis is a reference not to the degree, as we think of it, but to "exemplary knowledge" for example Severus is a Potions Master. And it's quite likely he won't get it for some time, he's just trying right now.

Enjoy!

"Harry?"

Harry batted once lazily at the air. "Go away, Hermione . . ."

"Harry, Sugah, it's Gram."

"I don't want to go to the library . . ."

"It ain't the lahbraray, Sweetheart, it's Remus Ah'm aftuh."

Harry rolled over and almost fell out of the bunk bed. "Hunh?"

Gram smiled. "Ah'm sawrry to wake ya at en hour layk this'n, Child, but Ah'm lookin' fur Remus, 'n since this is hees room, Ah wuz wunderin' if you'd seen 'im."

Harry pulled himself up on his elbows and grabbed at his watch.

"It's a qwatah to six, Sugah."

"What'd'you want him so early for?"

"Mmmnnnn . . . " Severus rolled over on the bottom bed and blinked once. It was something he took pride in, that he was awake as soon as he stopped sleeping - that was to say, truly awake and not just walking around looking it. Gram jumped.

"Way-ull nayw, if'n Ah'd'a known you was awake Ah'd not've woken this'un. 'Ve you seen Remus?"

It was at this particular moment that Remus reentered the room, shirtless, wet, and with his pajama pants pulled on in such a careless manner that they revealed more than they hid. Upon seeing his mother standing next to his bed, Remus gasped and tried to yank the pants up to his waist. Whether or not he succeeded was a matter of opinion - he pulled them up properly, but then unknowingly caught his hand in the drawstring, causing them to fall right back down when he lowered his hand back to his side.

"Oh, of all the -"

"Remus Lupin, Ah've been lookin' fur you fur the payst haylf an hour. D'you wanter explaiyn where you've been?"

Remus pulled a blue and black plaid flannel shirt out of his suitcase (it seemed like everything the man had packed was made of flannel, denim, or wool) and tugged it on, struggling to button it in the semidark.

"I got a shower, Mum. In case you didn't notice, you were not the one bathing the babies last night, I was, and there was no hot water left by the time I got Peter to bed."

"Way-ull . . . go dray your hayr. You ain't goin' out to the barn with your hayr all soppin' layk thayat." Gram turned and left, and instantly Harry was suspiciously full of energy. "Why are you going to the barn, Remus? What's going on that you've got to be up so early? Is something wrong?"

Remus laughed and tugged his side of the covers straight. "Just chores, Harry. Animals don't take holidays, you know."

Harry sat straight up so quickly that Remus said a quick thank-you for sleeping in the attic - any normal bedroom in the house and the teen would have given himself a concussion. "Can I help?"

Remus shook his head goodnaturedly. "Harry, farm chores aren't easy. It takes years of practice to do some of them right and they're really not all that fun -"

"Come on, Remus, I want to help. You said you had horses." Harry had discovered a great love of the equestrian animals after a hay ride he'd taken with his guardian - the horses pulling the cart had been gorgeous.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Meet me in the breezeway - where we came in yesterday - in five minutes. Any more and you stay inside, got it?"

Harry jumped over the side railing and landed on the floor in nothing but his underwear. "Got it."

"Harry . . ."

"Yeah?"

"Where are your pajamas?"

Harry shrugged. "What good are summer pajamas in the middle of December?"

Remus sighed. "I knew I should have gotten you a pair when I went up to London to get those extra textbooks."

Harry hurried down the rickety old stairs two at a time, followed at a more dignified pace by Severus, who had insisted that almost all country families did a lot of cooking and he'd rather be making coffee or biscuits than laying in bed trying to fall back asleep. Harry left the black haired man standing in the kitchen and raced down into the breezeway just in time to see Remus pulling on a pair of knee-high black rubber boots.

"Pick a pair, kiddo," Remus greeted, nodding toward the boots on his feet. Harry pulled a pair out of the pile and tried them on. Too big. Three pairs later he finally found some that fit passably. Remus handed him a positively ancient brown coat with enormous pockets and nodded toward the door. Harry had just enough time to wonder if he should ask about gloves before Remus tugged at his arm and pulled him in the direction of the barn.

Apparently gloves weren't something he'd need, Harry discovered, as they entered the gigantic wooden structure to the sound of lowing. Remus hurried to pull a three-legged stool from the wall and opened a stall, motioning Harry inside. "Stay slow and on the left, Harry," Remus instructed, sitting the stool down. "Have you ever seen anyone milk a cow?"

Harry shook his head.

"Well, now you're going to, and you're going to learn how to do it. It's not as easy as you'd think." Remus pushed a bucket under the pink udder. The cow lowed again. "Now that's enough, Sadie, I've got you now . . . " A warm stream of milk streaked into the pail. Harry watched, somewhat amazed. Certainly he knew that milk came from cows and that someone had to milk that cow - it was simply that he rarely considered the fact when pouring white, cold, sterilized milk out of a cardboard container as compared to the cream-colored, foamy stuff slowly filling the pail.

"Harry."

"Huh?" Harry looked up quickly, and Remus quickly turned the teat he was milking, squirting a long stream right into Harry's mouth.

"Remus!" Harry protested, milk dribbling down his chin.

"Watch it," Remus scolded, "that's perfectly good milk you're wasting."

Harry obediently closed his mouth and tried to swallow, although his laughing was causing a bit of difficulty. He finally got down the mouthful, and then immediately licked his face to see if there was any more.

"That's really good. Where did you learn that?"

Remus just smiled and shook his head. "Harry, I've been doing farm chores since I was six and a half. I'd be more worried if I couldn't do it. And just imagine this - when you go back to school, you can tell Hermione you've had milk straight from the cow."

Harry laughed so hard he had to lean against the rough wooden side of the stall, and Sadie the cow mooed in alarm. Remus calmed her again before finishing his work, explaining it to Harry as he did, and then taking the milk pail out of the stall and setting it with seven others lined up next to the door.

"We'll take it in when we go inside. You're not afraid of heights, are you - now there's a stupid question. I keep forgetting I'm not talking to Sirius or Davey (1), I'm talking to a Quidditch player. I'll go first." Remus motioned to a ladder that would take them about forty feet up, right into the hay loft.

Harry was near the top when Remus stopped and sat at the top of the ladder, blocking Harry from getting into the loft. "Harry."

Harry just stared at him. Remus had suddenly gone quite serious, and Harry wasn't sure why.

"Harry . . ." Remus seemed about to pose a difficult statement, so Harry tried to help him along with it, although he didn't do too good a job.

"Remus, my hands are starting to hurt."

"Er - sorry." Remus scooted back so Harry could get in a little closer. "Harry, I didn't want you out here yet because I've got something out here for you and I didn't want you to see it before breakfast, but I guess it really doesn't matter. I talked to a few people before I got it, and all of them agreed you'd like it, but if you don't I can -"

"Remus, the biggest Christmas gift I ever got from the Dursleys was a coat hanger. Can I just come up now?"

Remus pulled him hesitantly into the loft, keeping hold of his ward's shoulders - with good reason. Harry had barely started pulling himself forward into the dusty-smelling hay before a loud, shrill bark echoed through the dimly lit loft, and Harry was hit with ten pounds of ears, tail, paws, and fur. The puppy immediately launched itself into Harry's lap, barked again, stuck its nose in Harry's ear, and sniffed deeply.

"Hey, that tickles!" Harry laughed at the puppy and pushed it off his lap, and then his breath caught in his throat.

The puppy sitting in front of him was all black - except for a single patch of white fur, with its eye right in the very center, and it almost looked like . . .

"Harry? Hey, are you still in there?" Remus waved his hand in front of Harry's face. Harry twisted around (the puppy didn't seem very happy with being on the floor of the loft, so it had climbed right back into Harry's lap, effectively taking away his ability to use his legs) and stared, wide-eyed, at Remus, who reached forward to pull a piece of straw out of the teen's hair.

"Is it - it's - "

"He's male, Harry, about twelve weeks old. Pop called me a few weeks ago and said he'd seen the strangest thing -"

Harry yelped as the puppy stuck its cold wet nose between the buttons on his shirt, then blushed. "Sorry."

Remus grinned. "No problem. It's better than what he pulled yesterday when I came up to play with him so he wouldn't be alone - normally he's in the house, but I didn't want you to see him."

"What did he do?"

Remus pulled the wandering fuzz ball away from the ladder. "He peed on me."

Harry laughed loudly, and the puppy started to bark. "But you were saying -"

"Oh - right. So Pop told me about this little fellow, and I asked if he could put down a deposit and I'd pay him back - and then he told me he'd already brought the dog home."

Harry stared, openmouthed. "Your dad bought me a dog?"

"No, no, not really," Remus answered, and Harry stared at him, perplexed. Remus hurried to explain. "Around here, we still do a lot of trading for things. It's easier for everyone to get what they need that way, with no hard feelings. So anyway, Pop fixed Widow Harper's fence - she's the one whose dog had the pups, really sweet woman, got her fence knocked down in a storm - in exchange for the puppy. People do that kind of thing around here."

Harry pulled the puppy back in his lap, not quite sure what to say. "He looks like he has a star over his eye."

Remus smiled. "I know. I've actually been looking since September, but I didn't want one that was all black because -" He stopped the train of words as though he'd cut it off with a knife. "Anyway, I took one look at him - Pop said if he wasn't what I was looking for then he and Mum would keep him and train him as a farm dog - and thought he was perfect. I figure he can stay in my quarters during the school year and we can take him out after classes and on the weekends, and then in the summer we'll find a nice place with a big yard and you can teach him to play fetch without running away, if he's not as dumb as my first dog was - that hound couldn't find a steak on a clean tile floor." He paused. "I know you just met him, Harry, but we need to start trying to get him to answer to a name, so if you could try to think of one today -" The puppy interrupted by sniffing Remus' pant cuff and lifting his leg. "Oh, no you don't, not again!" Remus hurried out of the path of attack, scooting backward on all fours, and Harry started laughing again.

"Can we call him Snuffles?"

Severus pushed aside a pile of carefully chopped onions - he'd opted to help Everjoice in the kitchen as opposed to going out to the barn with Remus and Harry, seeing as he already knew what was out there and thought Remus might want some time alone with his ward - and started in on a red pepper (2) with sure hands before giving voice to the question that had been vaguely bothering him all night. "Mrs. - Everjoice?"

Everjoice looked up from the bread dough she was kneading (for dinner that afternoon, of course) and smiled. "You gawt somethin' on you mind, hun?"

Severus overlooked the hated pet name in favor of asking his question. "That girl - the redheaded woman - I think Remus called her Catherine -"

"Thayat's Catherine, sure 'nough, hun. Whuddabout 'er?"

"Why in the name of Merlin does she keep calling Remus 'Angel Boy'?"

Everjoice slowed and stopped her kneading, thinking a bit. "Wayull, hun, nobawdy really knows fur sure anymawah. But it seems ter me't it started when - you do know Remus is adopted, right?"

Severus nodded - he'd heard about Alkyne Macnair's unwitting "outing" of the blonde professor.

"Wayull, we - Remus 'n I - my husband, Remus, Ah mean - we wanted t'adopt a li'l boy, 'cause we had more'n enough ladies 'round at that point, 'n so we went inter town to thayt Ministry orphanage they got fer kids'at cain't be put in Muggle homes, you know. Catherine went with us - she was only 'bout, oh, Ah'm gonna say 'bout eight years old er so, 'n she di'n't want no li'l boy in the house to be sure. So we weren't even sure we was gonna get one, but we desahded tuh look anyway. We was tawkin' ter the head nurse, Remus 'n I, 'n Catherine went out inter the garden tuh tawk tuh the childrun out theya. All'v a sudden she comes runnin' in en grabs mah skirt, 'n sayuhs, she does, 'Mama, I think I just met an angel.' So Ah ast 'er what she's tawkin' 'bout, you know, 'n she points ter this li'l boy settin' in the corner all by hisself - kinder biggish fer a li'l one, Ah thawt, 'n with hayurr jist red's a carrot, but when we goes over to tawk to 'im he's just p'lite's kin be, all yes'm 'n no'm 'n thank ya very much. So's then Catherine says, 'I wouldn't mind havin' a brother if'n he was like that,' 'n Ah ast the head nurse whut a boy thayat nayce is still doin' here. Well she says he's a werewolf. Thayat almost done it raht theya - too dangerous ter keep a boy layk thayat on a farm, thinks we, 'n then Catherine says werewolves won't hurt animals 'cordin' t'what she's been readin' in 'er sister's schoolbooks, 'n he'd have plenny'a' room ter run 'round without bein' a bother t'anybawdy, 'n it ain't fayar fer a boy layk thayat te hafta live 'n an orphanage, n' so we brought 'im home not a week laytah. Catherine she comes runnin' out inter the front out theya - din't even rec'o'nize 'im til 'e turned 'is head to look at 'er, 'n then she comes tearin' across the yard yellin' 'We got the angel boy!' 'n it just kinder stuck aftah thayat."

Severus pushed the cut vegetables into a glass bowl. "He speaks very highly of all of you."

Everjoice chuckled, a warm, honeyed sound that filled the kitchen. "Wayull Ah should hope so. Don't wawnt'im ter feel alone, he's had 'bout 'nough'a thayat."

At that point Harry and Remus staggered into the kitchen, carrying two milk pails apiece and laughing. Remus had a backpack on, and as soon as he'd set the milk pails down he pulled it off carefully and set it on the kitchen table, opening it and starting to pull out eggs. "Here, Harry, you've got the pencil, date them for me - we always use the older ones first and what we can't use we'll take to town."

"Ah kin assure you we'll be usin' 'em all fer today, at least," Everjoice commented, and held her hand out. "Jist you pass'em on ovah. We've been a-waitin' on you all. Pour yesself a glass 'a milk, Sugah, b'fore th' cream rises."

Breakfast was excellent, barring the fact that Harry discovered he didn't really care for grits, nor yet for spiced apples, and felt quite embarrassed about it until Gram hugged him and told him she didn't mind, and it surely would be a boring world if "a body was always takin' a likin' ter the same thangs 's another body did all er the time." It was a cliched phrase, Mississippi accent or no, but Harry still felt much better after she gave him some toast and told him to see if the preserves were more to his liking (they were). Only once did he look up after biting into his toast and omelette, and that was to laugh secretly at Remus, who was sitting across from him acting like he hadn't eaten in years. When everyone was finished (it took a good forty-five minutes) Gram set the dishes to wash themselves, explaining that there were very few times she ever did it because things were more likely to get broken, but for today she thought they'd manage. It didn't take too long to settle everyone into the living room and get the little kids occupied with stockings full of apples, oranges, chocolate coins, and tiny presents like mittens and Jacob's Ladders. Quickly following that, Remus began to pull packages out from under the tree and pass them around to the people old enough to truly appreciate them - these being the people who cared for what was in the packages, not for whatever new trend those packages might conceal (Barbie dolls were a nauseating and recurrent favorite among the rugrats). Harry noticed that most of them were roughly the same size and shape, and that only tags and paper colors seemed to vary. Suddenly Remus stopped, holding in his lap a package covered in moving (Harry assumed they were supposed to be falling) snowflakes, and groaned. "Mum . . . "

Gram gently pulled a toddler's forgotten sweater from under the tree as she answered. "Remus Lupin, you may be thirty-six years old but you're still my child. Now you c'n open it, er else Ah c'n open it for you 'n leave it up on your bed."

Remus blushed heavily and began to pull the paper carefully off the package. When at last he'd pulled the final swathes of wrapping from around the contents, Harry leaned over to see what was inside that Remus found so embarrassing. He didn't see anything to be upset over. A cardigan sweater (3)(well, that would explain Remus' seemingly never-ending supply of them) was wrapped around two dime novels (4) and a large bar of Hazelnut Creme chocolate from Honeydukes. Next to the books and chocolate bar sat a coffee mug with words on it. Remus picked it up and turned it around to read it, grinning wryly. "Mum?"

"Whut is it, Remus?"

Remus turned the cup one more time, as though to make sure he'd read it correctly. "What, exactly, does the phrase 'love me, love my socks' have to do with a coffee mug?" Several people started laughing as Gram just pointed peacefully to the toe socks Remus was wearing - a gift from some smart aleck at the school, they were covered in foot-related words and definitions taken right out of the dictionary. Remus wiggled his toes defensively before passing a package to Harry.

Harry had received many wonderful gifts since he'd started at Hogwarts and made friends: A Firebolt, an Invisibility Cloak, exciting books, and, for his sixteenth birthday, a small photo album with pictures of himself and his friends (courtesy of Remus, who apparently had a camera stashed away somewhere). Never before had a gift led him to cry.

"Crying" might even have been too harsh a term for the action - certainly he blinked away tears, but he was by no means bawling like a toddler. This package was from Gram - a 'relative' who had never even met him before yesterday - and the time, and thought, she'd put into it was clear and present. Harry hadn't gotten a sweater (for which he was secretly thankful; he already had far more than he knew what to do with), but instead a crocheted throw blanket that was absolutely the perfect size for curling up under in the common room with his homework. A small pouch on the front of the blanket revealed that it could be folded up and used as a pillow. Harry looked up to say thank you, but as he did Remus waved him back toward the parcel. "Harry, you're missing the best part. Open it up, she never puts only one thing in a package."

Harry carefully unfolded the remainder of the blanket and discovered his own mug, sort of an hourglass shape that fit his hand comfortably, with four flavored tea bags (orange, lemon, cinnamon, and chamomile) stuck inside it. Next to the mug was a Mason jar that, according to the label on the lid, contained enough homemade hot chocolate mix for two cups - "Add one good friend and stir. Serve hot." Intrigued now, Harry began turning out various folds of the blanket and looking inside the pouch. He found a book of puzzles and riddles, a Rubik's cube, and a wooden pull-string top (5). He was slightly stunned - he'd never had toys of his own before, not even a stuffed animal as a baby, and it had never occurred to him that there were still toys for which he wasn't "too old." He stacked the items carefully near the arm of the sofa and reached under the tree to find out what else was under there, and for whom, fully enjoying Christmas for the first time.

It took nearly two hours to open everything, if only because there were so many people and presents, and of course thank-yous had to be said and pictures taken. Harry wasn't sure how on earth he was going to fit everything into his trunk. In addition to Gram's package, he was now the proud and grateful owner of several books on various subjects, a gift certificate to Quality Quidditch Supplies (he hadn't even been aware gift certificates existed in the Wizarding world), a set of drawing pencils and a sketch book, a journal, a portable cassette player (charmed to work even under high-magic conditions), several cassettes, a framed (and rather goofy, truth be told) picture of his friends at Fright Night, and some kind of pen with ink that changed colors and never ran out (and it worked on parchment, on top of all that). In addition to the gifts from his new family, he'd gotten his annual Weasley sweater (green, with a Snitch on the front), a Chudley Cannons poster from Ron, a rather heavy book that seemed to be some kind of Dark Arts dictionary from Hermione, a tin of treacle fudge from Hagrid (he hid it carefully in the fear that some unsuspecting child might cement their jaws together with it), and several small and varied packages of candy from a few of his less close friends. Harry was slightly surprised to find a blue-wrapped package from Luna, containing two seashells and an interesting piece of driftwood, along with a note telling him she was on holiday in Wales and while it was much too cold to swim she'd found these while walking along the beach and thought he might like them. It was while he examined one of the shells that Remus (the little one) picked up a small box shaped object from the floor and handed it to Remus (the older one). Apparently it had been lost in the sea of wrapping paper and ribbons, and it was only when the rugrats went searching to see if anything had been missed that it was found. Remus turned it curiously, looking at it from all angles and directions, before slipping off the brown paper and finding a simple wooden box with gold-colored hinges, lock, and catch. He swung the catch and raised the lid before gasping loudly enough for several people to draw completely erroneous conclusions as to what was in the box, and for Harry, Mary Anne, and Melody to all scramble around to see it.

Sitting in a small square of white tissue paper was the dragon's-tooth necklace Harry had seen in his Dark Arts class, the braided leather cord carefully coiled beneath and around it. Remus pulled it out of the box in disbelief before turning to Severus, who was sitting in the corner with a bemused half-smirk and a single raised eyebrow.

"Severus, I can't take this, these are - these are really, really -"

"I wouldn't have given it to you if I didn't want you to have it."

"But it's not -" Remus relaxed his grip on the cord and it slipped from his fingers. Mary Anne caught it before it was lost in the multicolored paper tides frozen around Remus' feet, and began examining it minutely while Severus stood and moved to crouch on the floor next to his partner. "I suggest you put it on before you lose it, unless you have someplace you care to keep it."

Mary Anne looked up from her scrutiny of the titanic fang. "Ooh, Remy, you should wear it, not just put it away! Dragon teeth are supposed to protect you and bring you good luck."

Remus plucked it hesitantly from his sister's fingers and turned it over and over in his hands before Severus drew the ends of the cord out of Remus' palms and pulled them around behind his neck. "The cord is charmed so you don't have to tie it - the ends seal themselves together when they touch."

"So how do you get it off?" Melody stared at the now-seamless cord.

"Pull on it. But if it catches on something it won't fall off because the charm is activated by heat."

"Ooh, that's really clever . . . " Mary Anne stared in awe at the black-haired man moving back to his seat in the corner. "I wish I could do things like that."

"Don't look at me that way," Severus admonished his teenage admirer. "I failed my Charms N.E.W.T. because I could never remember which spells were for Charms and which ones were for Transfiguration. My cousin sent it to me that way."

Harry snickered slightly at the idea that Severus had failed an N.E.W.T., only to be greeted with a glare. "If you can tell me what kind of useful purpose is served by giving a tea saucer a pair of wings, I will gladly allow you to laugh at me all you wish." Harry sat in silence. Severus smirked. "I didn't think so."

Remus knocked on the door of the bedroom and walked in without pause. The knock was really nothing more than habit - Harry wouldn't have had time to blink, much less cover himself up if he was indecent (Remus winced slightly at the memory of Severus' unannounced arrival in the room last night - who wanted to be caught staring contemplatively at a pair of lavender pajamas covered in sheep?), but it did give him warning that he was about to lose whatever minimal amount of privacy the Lupin farmhouse afforded. Remus discovered Harry laying on the lower bunk with his newly aquired copy of The Arabian Nights. Harry rolled over and continued reading, absolutely oblivious to the fact that his guardian had just entered the room. Unable to think of an appropriate way to rouse his ward, Remus simply trotted over and plunked right down on the old feather mattress (well, it was his bed). Harry looked up from the red leather volume laying on the pillow.

"Harry, I wanted to ask you something."

Harry sat up. Snuffles jumped from the rug into his lap, and Harry spent several minutes laughing and trying to avoid the puppy now slobbering happily all over his face. When at last he'd calmed the black and white canine with a good scratch behind the ears, he looked up at Remus in consternation. "What did I do?"

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Nothing that I'm aware of . . . but should I be asking you what you did?"

"Well . . . I kinda knocked one of the five year olds in the snow when we were having a snowball fight and he started crying, but I don't think I hurt him. And, I mean, I helped him up and all, it was just an accident, but -"

Remus started laughing. "If by chance you're referring to Michael, Mum fixed him up with a cup of chocolate and a jelly biscuit."

Harry sighed in relief, and then instantly became wary again. "So what's going on that's so important you had to tear yourself away from a huge plate of biscuits -" here he pointed at his own little tray of frosted sugar biscuits and a few pastries, sitting on the nightstand - "to come up here and ask me?"

"Well, Severus is fairly occupied. Apparently he enjoys a good game of gin rummy, and Catherine and Mary Anne and Bugsy are some of the best players in England. At least that's what Mum always says. And I wanted to talk to you privately - I suppose eventually it might involve him, but it really doesn't right now."

Harry stared. "I haven't heard that in months. Dear Diary, guess what?"

Remus bopped him playfully with one of the numerous throw pillows he kept on his childhood bed for some reason unknown to anyone else. "I spend plenty of time with you, you - you - insolent little Gryffindor brat!"

Harry bopped him back. "That argument would be a great one if you hadn't been in Gryffindor." Snuffles barked in agreement and licked Remus' face.

Remus laughed, and then slowly got serious again. "What do you think of my folks?"

Harry put his book on the nightstand excitedly. "They're awesome. I mean, I wish there were a few closer to my age (6), but they're still really cool. I can't believe your mom got me all that stuff when she'd never even met me. I feel like I'm really with family. Well - Ron's family treats me like family, but they still feel like they're just the family of my best friend, you know?"

Remus smiled a little. "Mum loves pulling people into the family. I imagine you guessed that already, though, seeing as there's so many of us."

Harry nodded. "I still can't believe you're adopted. They all treat you just like they treat each other."

Remus frowned. "Most people don't act like the Dursleys, Harry. I don't know why they treated you that way. To be honest, I really don't want to know. But I did want to ask you if -"

"If I'd like to be adopted." Harry scratched Snuffles behind the ears, and the giant-footed canine stuck his nose in Harry's sleeve with a 'whuff.'

"How did you know that?"

"Heard you talking to your mum after dinner."

Remus reached over to scratch the puppy's back. "I don't want you to think you have to make an immediate decision, Harry, and I definitely don't want you to think I'm saying you have to forget your past if you say yes. But I saw how you grew up and I thought maybe you'd -" Remus stopped in frustration. "I'm not sure how to put this. You know we're your family, Harry, even if the Ministry says we're not, legally, right?"

Harry nodded.

"It's only - I thought perhaps you'd like it to be legal, in addition to whatever your heart tells you."

Harry grinned. Then the grin vanished and he looked worried. "Remus?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I wouldn't have to - you know - change my name and all that, would I? I mean I know my last name would become Lupin, but I don't -"

"You'd want to keep your birth name and appearance, is that it?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that, Harry, and it's perfectly possible. There are adoptions of all kinds. I chose to leave my past behind because I didn't particularly care for my birth parents, but I can understand perfectly why you'd want to keep your heritage."

"Can I think about it?"

Remus gave him a look that was some kind of bizarre cross of "you're kidding me, right?" and "haven't you been listening to a word I said?"

"Of course you can think about it, Harry. Things like that are all the better for thinking over."

Harry leaned over to hug his guardian, and Snuffles leapt out of his lap in alarm, settling on the pillows with a look so reminiscent of a disdainful Sirius that both Harry and Remus laughed.

"Remus?"

"Hmm?"

"No matter what happens . . . thanks."

Remus hugged his ward even tighter, feeling his family was complete at last. "Pleasure's all mine."

REFERENCE NOTES:

(1) Davey Gudgeon. I love using him, simply because I figure either Remus has an incredible memory or else he and Davey were somewhat friends, since Remus remembered that Davey Gudgeon was the one who almost lost an eye to the Whomping Willow (PoA). Most of the adults I know would have said "A boy almost lost . . ." not "A boy named Davey Gudgeon almost lost . . . " because it wouldn't be any kind of consequence to them, unless they'd known the boy in question.

(2) These are actually only the ripest form of green peppers, for anyone who thinks I'm about to give them all fire-breathing abilities. The food they are making is what my mom calls a "southwest omelette," which has onions, green (or red, when we can get them) peppers, a bit of hot sauce (though not much), some pepper, and several other kinds of vegetables like green onions. All of that is mixed together with eggs and scrambled, and you serve it hot. I hate eggs with a passion, but even I will eat a "southwest omelette" without too much argument on the rare occasions that my mom makes it.

(3) I'm well aware that in the books Remus is constantly described as wearing "shabby robes," and I feel that his character was horribly misrepresented in the movie so I usually stick to canon description. Like Remus' hair, however (blonde not brown), I think the movie did do him a good deal more justice with the wardrobe he was shown in. Therefore, I'm sticking with the old (and often endearingly dorky) cardigans and worn-out trousers of the movie. RANDOM NOTE: Did anyone else notice that while Remus' trousers were supposed to be way too big (to emphasize the idea that he's lost weight, he's poor, etc.), he never wears a belt or suspenders? It's true - the sides, legs, and pockets all look like he should be too thin for them, but the waist fits perfectly. Anyway . . . I just had to point that out for those who don't pay attention to these things, because they're not obsessed with movie inconsistencies (they make me laugh) . . .

(4) I think most people know what these are, but for those who have been living in a monastery since 1930 (or who were born after 1980 . . . I guess many of us fall into that category too), these are your basic paperback books. Dime novels are usually mysteries or romance novels, and were originally printed for people who either wanted to carry a book with them to read (those big leather-bound editions are heavy), or who couldn't afford "real" books (did I mention they're also super-expensive if it's real leather?). The original V.C. Andrews books (Here There be Thorns, Flowers in the Attic, etc.) are examples of dime novels, so called because when they first came out, they were advertised as costing only a dime.

(5) Again, this is an antiquated item, but good things never die . . . I have one of these. The string is attached to another piece of wood. You wind it around the dowel part of the top, pull the string, and watch that baby go. I once timed one to see how long it would spin (it went for a minute and twenty-two seconds before it hit the sugar bowl and fell on the floor), and let me tell you, the things they're coming out with nowadays will never beat these old tops. Ask your grandparents if they perhaps still have one lying around - they're unbelievably fun!

(6) The age structure of Remus' family is based loosely on my own experiences at our family reunion - you have a lot of older people, a handful of people in their 20's to early 30's, a few more in their 40's, an unbelievable group of "babies" and little kids, but only 7 teenagers representing about 160 people. That's because the teens are usually the "change of life" kids of the moms in their forties/early fifties, while the "usual" kids of those parents are now the 20's and 30's group, and they have all the little ones. So yes, this structure is possible (in response to several people who said "no way"), and yes, it does happen. Most of the babies you're hearing about are change of life toddlers, but there are some adults I simply haven't bothered mentioning.