"You're welcome to stay for dinner," Remus perked his head up in surprise at Dumbledore's words, "Allow the little one to explore a bit. She seemed to be entertained by the portraits earlier." He quickly shook his head, "No, no, we couldn't. Plus, I don't know how she would handle so many people. She might get overwhelmed." The child in question was sitting on the cot, her attention flicking back and forth between the two men as each spoke.
Dumbledore's gaze stayed still, his eyes twinkling with the wisdom that would take Remus years to achieve, "Now Remus, don't you think it's time to expand her horizons? Like I said, Hogwarts is her home, but it is also yours." Before Remus could pipe in, he continued, "Besides, I believe this little one should have a proper meal that isn't jam sandwiches, despite how delicious a jam can be." The young man hung his head in shame, but before he could sink too low, the Headmaster placed his warm hand on his shoulder, "Now, none of that. You two are honored guests, and I believe as guests you deserve a tour, eh?"
With that, the elder man turned to Cyra, who was staring at both of them with wide and curious eyes. Giving a gentle smile, he offered his hand to her, "Allow me to welcome you to Hogwarts, Miss Cyra." Slipping off of the cot, her shoes made a soft thud on the stone floors, her hand softly clasping around two of Dumbledore's fingers before giving a weak shake. If she could get over the fear of the situation, so could he.
Remus reasoned with himself that he needed to be strong for her, coming over to stand behind her, "We would be delighted to join you, sir." There was that damn twinkle again, Dumbledore giving him a knowing smile before spinning around, the starry robes twinkling in the light, "Well then, let's take a tour, shall we?"
As they ventured down the halls, Cyra kept close by him, clinging to his hand tighter as the pearly-white ghosts glided before them, talking animatedly amongst themselves and paying no mind to the trio. Headmaster Dumbledore simply offered them a nod before continuing on, "Our students are currently preparing for their finals, so we shan't worry of much attention upon our little guest." Remus gave a small laugh, that did make him feel better, "Merlin help those kids, N.E.W.T.s are downright awful."
Despite what the Headmaster said, there were a few curious stares they received, but were ignored. Cyra refused to meet any gazes, keeping her eyes straight on the doors they were approaching. As they were pushed open, sunlight streamed in, causing Cyra to freeze and shut her eyes. Remus looked down at the pup curiously, seeing her rub at her eyes furiously, "Oh dear." He halted his steps, bending down to carefully pick her up, "It's bright, isn't it?" As she buried her face into his neck, he continued on beside Dumbledore, who had stopped upon noticing they weren't following.
Feeling awkward in the silence, he piped in quietly, "Her senses are still new, sounds and light can be too much at times. She hasn't gone outside because of it." Dumbledore gave him a hum, before commenting, "Noted. Perhaps we should take her somewhere a bit more shaded then?" With that, he began heading towards a familiar hut. Remus held tight to his charge, following after him, being careful of his steps.
Seeing the grounds brought something painful to his chest, remembering his old reckless days with the people he considered family. Hogwarts was truly a student's safe haven, but his friends were the ones who made it home. Upon that thought, another came, one that caused him to furrow his brows, "Dumbledore.." He heard no response, but he knew he was listening, "How come..I mean, how is it that I can care for Cyra, but they wouldn't let me take him in? I know I wasn't his godfather, but I'm sure that Lily and James.." His voice broke for a moment, causing him to turn silent.
Dumbledore was quiet as well, continuing on the path. After a moment, his worn voice cut through the silence, "I was hoping you wouldn't ask Remus. But as you know, the prejudice that the Ministry holds against those affected by Lycanthropy, it is.. something that has yet to change even after all of these years. With the same reasoning they used with you against Harry, they applied to Cyra, but with an exception."
Those last words hung in the air, followed by nothing but silence.
He didn't want to ask, because he felt he already knew the answer, his hand balling up the jumper that hung around the small child as she clung to him. After a moment, he gritted out from his clenched teeth, "What was the exception?" Dumbledore finally stopped, letting out a sigh with his head dropping for a moment before he turned to look Remus dead in the eye, the disgust brimming from his voice, "The exception was that a 'monster' would be better to care for one of their own than to send it to a 'normal' family."
Feeling the tension, Cyra lifted her head, squinting to look at Remus's furious expression. The chest she laid on was rumbling, like a deep growl building from within his chest. Dumbledore shot his hands up in defense, "Their words, not mine, you know that Remus. Trust me, I was just as repulsed." There was a heavy silence between the two, no more words needing to be shared. It was cut quick however, by the sound of a heavy door being opened, and the bellowing voice from below, "Headmaster Dumbledore! Is that ye!?" As if a switch was flipped, Dumbledore turned to look at the half giant with a kind smile, "Hello Hagrid, I've brought visitors. One you may recognize." Remus felt Cyra wriggle around in his tight grip, muttering a quick apology before loosening his grip, following after Dumbledore.
Hagrid's face lit up with surprise as he saw him, "Why, Lupin! Aren't ye a sight for sore eyes? How are ye nowadays, and who's this lil one with ye?" He came over to them, looking down at the small child in his arm with curiosity. Cyra clung tighter to Remus, hiding her face in his shoulder. He politely smiled at Hagrid, "I've been well, Hagrid. This little one is shy around strangers, you must excuse her. Her name is Cyra, and she's my charge." He noticed Hagrid's eyes finally catch notice of the bandages on her frail body, before he took a few thudding steps back, "Ah, I see. Well no worries! Nobody is a stranger once you get to have some tea with them! Come on in!"
He pushed the door open to the hut and shuffled himself in, waving for them to follow. Dumbledore let out a chuckle before following him in, the pair entering after. Once the sunlight left them, Remus watched Cyra lift her head once again, blinking a couple times to readjust. Hagrid grabbed a large teapot, filling it with some water before placing it above the fire, "Sit on down! Get comfortable!"
Remus let Cyra down before he followed Dumbledore to the couch, getting himself comfortable as Hagrid suggested. He looked out the corner of his eye to see Cyra still standing in the place he put her in, her eyes flicking about to every corner of the hut. Each time Hagrid would move, her gaze would lock onto him and stay there until she was satisfied. Dumbledore was observing her as well, but instead of the worried look Remus held, he was smiling. Hagrid noticed the skittishness of the small one, deciding to sit himself down in his wooden chair, it making a loud creak. Her gaze didn't shift though, instead, something else had her attention.
Hagrid hummed, leaning to see what she was looking at, before letting out a laugh, "Ah! That's Fang, that is! Go on ahead and pet him if ye want, he won't bite ye!" Remus cringed at the word choice, looking over at Cyra worried as she stared down the puppy on the oversized bed.
Then without a second thought, she raced over to the puppy on the bed. Fang woke up, shaking the sleepiness out of his eyes before he launched himself at the girl, barking in excitement. It was as if they were watching a totally different girl, the soft giggles entering the air, Cyra rolling around on the floor with the puppy. Hagrid was grinning as he watched the endearing scene, "Ay, Fang can melt anyone's heart." Remus chuckled, watching the scene with interest, "So can Cyra."
Everything was calm, the tension forgotten the moment the huts warmth welcomed them. Hagrid hopped up, going over to his cabinets to grab his teacups, "I recently got this little set, it's got hippogriffs on them! Got them on discount at this little shop down in Hogsmeade." Dumbledore folded his hands over his lap, watching the giant carefully take each fragile cup one at a time in his large hands, "Oh, well isn't that lovely? I love a good design. I recently bought these pajamas, a lovely winter set, and it had these dancing unicorns. I of course got some socks to match, can't have mismatched bed wear, that's unforgivable."
Remus began to laugh, if someone told him a month ago that he would be listening to a discussion about the Headmaster of Hogwarts pajama preferences, he would call them crazy. Hearing footsteps approach, he turned to see Cyra approaching him with the puppy in her arms. He waited to see what she needed, but she simply stood there, her large amber eyes staring at him expectantly. He parted his lips to ask, but before he could, she was already gently nudging his hands out of his lap. Remus let her do what she wanted, watching as she struggled to climb onto the couch and hold the puppy at the same time. Finally, she did it, situating herself on his lap before she placed the puppy on hers, petting him happily. Remus sat there astonished, quietly taking the cup of tea he was given. The two other wizards simply chuckled before continuing their conversation.
It wasn't until after their tea was gone that they realized that Cyra had fallen asleep, her head slumped against Remus's chest, the puppy nestled in her arms. Remus listened to her soft breathing, reaching his hand up to carefully stroke her brown curls. The other men stayed quiet, Hagrid's smile slowly falling as he caught notice of the bandages again. He knew it was none of his business, but it broke his heart to see them. Dumbledore noticed it, answering the question that resided in his head, "Fenrir." Remus's head shot up at the name, catching the horror as it entered Hagrid's eyes. The Giant cleared his throat weakly, his hands shaking as he placed his teacup down, "To a w-wee thing like her?" His voice broke as he spoke, the tears beginning to form in his eyes as he imagined the horror the child must have gone through.
Remus clenched his jaw, petting Cyra's hair delicately, "He tore her apart like she was a piece of meat. Even when she was bitten, it wasn't enough for him. I saw it with Pomfrey. She has claw marks all over her back and abdomen. I had hoped that I could heal them all, but a werewolves marks.. they'll never heal. He mauled her body knowing this." Hagrid gagged, covering his mouth with a handkerchief. Dumbledore's face was grim, staring off into the distance, "He is the true monster, though the ministry prefers to blame a child who was given no choice in the matter."
Remus gave a silent nod, trying to keep calm by focusing on the pup in his arms. She was lucky to be alive, and he knew that, but she would be cursed with not only her infliction, but also the marks on her body for the rest of her life. He didn't want to imagine what might happen when other's see them, she'll never be able to feel comfortable. He could only hope she would make great friends like he did, who didn't believe everything was skin-deep.
After a moment, Hagrid cleared his throat, dabbing his eyes with the handkerchief, "Well, Cyra will never have to go through that again! She'll be safe with Lupin! And she'll always have Hogwarts as well to call a home!" Remus shakily smiled back at him, "Thank you Hagrid." Dumbledore placed his teacup down on the table, smiling once again, "Yes, I'm sure our dear Miss Cyra will do wonderfully here at Hogwarts. When she's of age, of course." Remus caught that, looking at him in surprise, "Wait, pardon?" The Headmaster raised a wispy brow at him, "Hm? Did I perhaps stutter? Or did you not think that I would be offering Miss Cyra the same deal I offered you as a young boy? That shack hasn't gone anywhere, after all." Remus pressed his lips together, he was now the one tearing up, "T-Thank you, Headmaster." He pulled the small girl closer to his chest, placing a kiss at the top of her head. He was worried before, but he was sure of it now, Cyra would be given the best upbringing and childhood. It was what she deserved, after all.
Dusk soon appeared outside the Hut's windows, catching their attention. Remus gently shook Cyra as the other wizards stood up, "Cyra, it's time for dinner." Her eyes slowly cracked open, looking up at him sleepily, "Mm?" He chuckled, deciding to carry her instead, standing up with her in his arms, "I suppose you'll have enough time to wake up on the walk back." He headed towards the door before he remembered, looking down at the small girl, "Cyra, we have to let the puppy stay here." She gave a pout, hugging Fang to her chest, him continuing to snooze in her warm embrace. Hagrid came over, holding his hands out carefully, "Aye, he'll get a bit overwhelmed in the dining hall. Let's let him sleep, alright lil one?" Cyra looked him up and down, before she released the puppy into his hands.
With that, they were off, heading back towards to castle. Cyra began to doze back off, her head drooping down on Remus's shoulder. He didn't bother to try and wake her, he knew the smell of food would wake her stomach. As they entered, Dumbledore looked as if he wanted to say something, but he quickly decided against it and instead strolled up to his head at the head's table. Remus narrowed his eyes at the old wizard before he followed after, an extra two chairs appearing besides McGonagall's. He placed Cyra down first, amused as she began looking around confused at her surroundings, before he took his own chair.
The other teachers soon joined them, filing into their respectful seats. Seeing his old head of house, he shot her a weak smile, "Evening, Professor." McGonagall gave a chuckle, tucking herself into her seat, "Well hello, Mr. Lupin. You're not a student anymore, you can call me Minerva if you wish." Remus cringed, thinking how strange it would feel call her by her first name, but he supposed it must have been strange to still call her Professor when he's graduated. Before he could say any more, she had already caught sight of Cyra, who was gazing around the room at all of the students filling in the hall.
"My, and who is this wee lass?" McGonagall asked, leaning a bit over the table to see her, "Is she yours?" Remus looked over at Cyra, smiling, "Yes." He then realized what she was asking, "I mean! Yes, but I didn't, um.. actually have her?" McGonagall gave him a knowing smile, "Well but of course you didn't, Mr. Lupin." Remus groaned, rubbing his face, "I mean.. I've adopted her."
"That poor child." A voice drawled from the other side of Cyra, his head whipped towards it quickly. Sitting there, was Severus Snape, who looked as if he wished to be anywhere but here. Remus narrowed his eyes at him, "Snape, I didn't know you were a teacher here." Snape raised a dark eyebrow at him, "I didn't know you were qualified to care for a child, what with your..condition." McGonagall cleared her throat, "Boys, enough. There should only be one child at this table." They both looked away from each other, focusing on the food that magically began appearing on the table. Cyra's eyes were wide, leaning far back in her chair. Remus placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Get whatever you want, Cyra. Do you want milk or pumpkin juice?"
She was quiet, looking around the table at all of the people, her eyes catching everything that moved. Remus furrowed his brows, watching her worried, "Cyra?" She jumped as her name was called again, looking up at him, his heart clenching as he saw the fear in her eyes. He quickly scooted his chair closer to hers, "How about we try pumpkin juice, eh? You might like it, then I'll have to buy a gallon of it." Cyra gave him a small smile before nodding, watching him pour the juice into her goblet. He watched her shaking hands take ahold of it, bringing it to her lips to take a sip. It took a second to process the flavors on her tongue, before she began chugging down the rest of it, only taking a few breaths. Remus gave a soft laugh, taking it once it was empty and refilling it, "Gotcha, so 2 gallons?" Cyra had a brighter smile before she began looking around the table at the food, his ears picking up the sound of her stomach growling.
Grabbing the plate with the steak, he placed one onto his plate, glancing over with a knowing look as he saw Cyra's eyes locked onto it now. Without saying a word, he placed another down on her plate, before moving onto the next dish. Soon, he had decorated her plate with everything that was on his. He watched her tiny hands wrap around the fork, trying to get a good grip on it before she stabbed it into the steak. He tried not to laugh as she tried to lift the steak up to her mouth, but the weight of an entire steak caused it to fall down on the plate again. Finally, he took his own knife and fork, "Here, wait a moment, and let me cut this for you." She gave a pout, sitting back and allowing him to cut it up. Remus didn't notice the pair of eyes locked onto him, watching him as he cared for his charge.
"There you are, try again." He teased, going back to his plate to begin eating. Cyra took a moment for her dignity before she began diving in, shoving a piece of meat into her mouth. He watched out the corner of his eye as her face lit up, he figured she would probably want meat, her infliction would cause more cravings for it after all. By the time he finished cutting his steak, he noticed hers was almost gone. Taking a bite of his, he grabbed a bread roll and plopped it onto her plate.
"My, you really have taken to the father role, Mr. Lupin." McGonagall chimed in before politely taking a bite of her potatoes.
He ducked his head in embarrassment, "Well.. um.." He pushed around his food on his plate, listening to his Old Head laughing, "That's not a bad thing! She's lucky to have a father like you." He gave a weak smile before going back to eating his food. Lucky, eh? He wouldn't really use those words. If anything, he was lucky to have her.
Seeing her tear into the bread roll, he wondered how ravenous her appetite must be. He knew when he was younger, his father said he almost ate them out of a house. She had polite table manners at least, chewing with her mouth closed, and using utensils like she's supposed to.
He observed the students, all of them in their own world, the older students looking much more tired and worn out. They had survived a wizarding war, he imagined they must be. He could only hope that by the time Cyra joins, it'll feel a bit more normal. Noticing her plate was empty, he was about to fill it back up but he stopped as he noticed her reaching for a chocolate éclair. The ones closest to Snape himself, his little pup cared not as she tapped her hand on the table, reaching over the man's arm. Said man was staring down at the girl with a raised brow, before he picked up an éclair, and placed it on her plate. Happy that she now had a sweet, she began snacking once again, and the man went back to eating.
Remus looked back down at his plate, thinking, he knew Snape wouldn't be as kind to Cyra if he knew what she was. But perhaps it was for the best. Cyra seemed happy, lost in her own world now of chocolate. If James were to see her, he'd definitely claim that was Remus's child, due to the addiction to the sweet dark delicacy. Finishing up his dinner, he grabbed himself some chocolate fudge. Food at Hogwarts always tasted better than anything in the world.
As he ate, he noticed McGonagall staring, as if she was curious about something. Finishing his bite, he raised a brow at her, signaling for her to speak. A little embarrassed that she got caught, she coughed and straightened her back, "So, Remus. I was wondering, what are you going to be doing for her early schooling? Will you be doing muggle or are you going to teach her at home?" He blinked, realizing that he hadn't actually thought of that. Glancing back at the child who had chocolate now all over her face, he sighed, "I'll..probably do it at home. When I get time after work." She gave an understanding nod, picking up her fork before piping in, "You know.. I heard Molly Weasley has been a fantastic teacher to those boys of hers. Her son, Bill, just became prefect."
He saw what she was doing, furrowing his brows, "Yes.. I've heard. 7 kids, right? I couldn't possibly give her another to deal with." He was waved off, "None of that Remus, you know she adores children. And your little one is so adorable, how could she refuse?" He narrowed his eyes at that, "You speak as if she's already accepted, Minerva." The Head of Gryffindor quickly looked away from his gaze, "Oh..well, that I would not know. That would perhaps be something to speak about with Dumbledore." The Headmaster upon hearing his name, gave Remus a knowing smile before raising his goblet to him. The young wizard let out a sigh before turning back to his fudge, "Well then, I suppose you should have said, how could I refuse? Eh?" All he received was a chuckle, and then the conversation was over.
Dinner was soon over, and Cyra was rubbing her stomach, her eyes beginning to droop. Remus took a napkin and gently wiped the chocolate off of her face, "Going into a food coma, are we? Will I be seeing you next week?" Cyra whined, reaching for him, her arms stretched out. He let out a chuckle before picking her up, placing her into his lap, "You're very clingy today, is it the new environment?" The only response he got back was her nuzzling her head into his neck, and the sound of her yawn. It was probably time for bed.
He stood up and looked directly at Dumbledore, "I suppose we must be off, thank you for having us, Headmaster." Dumbledore stood himself up, brushing off his robes, "Let me walk you back to the floo, I believe Poppy sent the potions and lists to my office." He gave a nod, going to follow before he paused, "Oh. It was nice to see you, Minerva..Severus." Snape's head shot up, looking at him with narrowed eyes before turning back to watch his house. McGonagall smiled sweetly at them, "It was lovely seeing you too, lad. Bring this little one over anytime, I hope to see her in my house soon." Remus chuckled before racing down after Dumbledore, offering Hagrid a wave before they left.
"Everything has been shrunk down, I believe you know the charm to unshrink them, Remus." Dumbledore chimed, handing him the shrunken suitcase. The young wizard gave a nod before slipping it into his pocket, "Thank you again, Headmaster. For everything." Dumbledore looked at the sleeping pup in his arms, "Thank you, Remus. You're giving her a home. That's more than many can do."
He felt his chest tighten as he thought about what might have happened if he didn't take her in.
Once they were in the floo, Dumbledore gave a wave, already heading out of his office, "Oh, and Remus?"
He perked his head up, looking at him curiously. The old wizard shot him a wink, "I believe Poppy made the potions chocolate flavored, that should save our friend's taste buds, eh?"
All he received in response was a laugh before the green flames took them away.