A demon. That had to be it. Remus had been possessed by a demon. No other force could have made him agree to this. His stomach felt like it was being used to tie up a Christmas present, and a lump about the size of Ireland was setting up camp in his throat. He slowly beat his head against the train window as Peter rambled on and on about how his summer vacation would be filled with fantastic relaxation and no stress and not meeting Minette's father. Well, not that last one specifically, but it rather went without saying.
"…And then I'll come over and stay with you for a week or two, James!" Peter beamed as though he'd just solved the mystery of King Tutankhamen's death.
"That's great, Wormtail," Sirius said. "It might've been more interesting if you hadn't been bragging since March, though."
"Moony, you alright?" James asked looking sideways at Remus, who was still rhythmically beating his head on the window.
"If you love me, kill me," Remus pleaded to James.
"Sorry, my heart belongs to Lily alone," James replied. "Honestly, though, it won't be that bad. Unless she gets mad at you for sending her to another compartment," he added.
"That was Sirius who sent her away, and I'm sure she's giggling with some of her friends who are plotting my demise, should I live through this summer."
"Hey, there's not any more room in here, don't say it like it's my fault," Sirius argued.
"There would be if you weren't laying across those three seats," Peter said reasonably, "Though even if she did sit there, your ego might suffocate her."
James and Remus sniggered while Sirius tried to look indignant. "That's one for Wormtail," James said, smiling.
"And how many have I got, then?" Sirius asked.
"We stopped counting yours when we couldn't decide if flashing McGonagall was worse for you or for her, remember?" Remus said, wincing at the memory.
"Oh yeah… you know, it really was her fault for not eating those turnips."
"Anyway, since you lot aren't considerate enough to kill me, I'll go see if Minette will," Remus said, rising from his chair and walking out of the compartment. He walked down the corridor to the door they had seen her go through earlier. He walked in and found Minette sitting alone reading a copy of A Guide to Medieval Sorcery. She looked up when he entered and smiled.
"Hello! Looking for me?" She asked, still smiling.
"Yes, I was just making sure that you were okay in here and everything…isn't there anyone else in here?"
"Oh. I'm doing fine! I was just starting some of the reading for our History of Magic homework. I hate having to work over the summer, don't you?" Minette asked Remus.
"I don't really mind it that much, to be honest. There's not much to do other than clean and cook at my house," Remus answered. "Is someone else in here with you?"
"Oh, there's always things to do at my house! You'll see, I guess!" Minette stood up and continued to beam at Remus. "There are these little hills all over, and there are snowdrops growing, but we might be too late to see them. There are some nice dogwood trees, though, and they'll be blooming."
"Sounds lovely," Remus said. "Is there anyone else sitting in the compartment, Minette?"
Minette turned away from Remus to look out the window. "No, no one else is in here." She turned back toward Remus, her smile slightly faded. "Aren't you excited to come and meet my dad? You two will get along great, I imagine. He's been eager to meet you since I was writing letters to him about you and all."
"Minette, didn't anyone else come in to sit in here? Your friends or anyone at all?" Remus asked suspiciously.
"No. I haven't got any friends, really, other than you and James, Sirius and Peter," Minette's smile vanished.
"What do you mean, you haven't got any friends?" Remus asked, shocked. He hadn't thought about it before, but Minette was never really with any of the other girls. She was always with Remus or alone.
"None of the girls have ever really talked to me. Except one who told me that I was 'an evil snake who aught to be given a swift kick in the arse,'" Minette gave a small, very forced laugh.
"What? Why?" Remus asked, surprised at this news.
"Ah…they don't really like me since I get along with James and you all," Minette said quietly as she sat back down and looked out the window again. "Most of them have crushes on one of you, and they don't like me for going out with you. It's alright, though," she added, "I don't mind, of course. I'm not complaining! I'd rather be friends with you than with those shallow…"
"Minette, why didn't you say anything before?" Remus asked her. "And why do all the girls like Lily still?"
"I suppose because she had friends already. Really, though, I don't care! Don't make anything big of it!" Minette put on her false smile again.
"Alright…I guess. If that's what you want." Remus went back to the door. "I'll come back when we're getting nearer to the station, alright?" He walked back down the corridor to the compartment where James, Sirius, and Peter were sitting and opened the door to find Sirius and Peter sitting in their boxers and James with his head covered in chocolate. Sirius opened his mouth, grinning from ear to ear, but Remus cut him off. "I don't even want to know. Did you guys ever know that Minette has no other friends? Other than us, I mean?"
"What do you mean?" James asked. "She hangs out with the other girls…like that…um…actually, I think you're right."
"Didn't you guys ever notice that? She's always alone in the common room and rushes right over whenever we come in. No one ever wants to be her partner in classes; she eats alone at lunch until we come…" Peter said bluntly.
"What are you, stalking her, Wormtail?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow, pulling his pants on again.
"I guess you notice those things when they happened to you. Remember before I hung out with you? All of first year?" Peter pointed out.
"Vaguely," James responded. "Then came that glorious day when you fell off the Astronomy Tower and our lives became complete and a lot more cheese-filled."
"Hey, are there pits of fire opening up in the earth and monsters taking over all of mankind?" Sirius asked.
"What are you talking about, Padfoot?" Remus asked him.
"Well, I thought the apocalypse might be here, because Peter just actually caught onto something before the rest of us," Sirius explained jokingly. "Let's have a moment of silence."
"We can add it to his baby book: 'Petey's First Stroke of Intelligence,'" James grinned. "Do we have the camera?"
Peter turned a shade of red and the four laughed and talked away the afternoon, temporarily forgetting their problems and the rest of the world for just as long as they could manage.
At that moment, Remus could not have wished any more to disappear without a trace. Minette was leading him out of the train, and looking around for her father among the crowd of parents waiting for their children.
"There!" she told Remus, pointing to possibly the most sinister looking man on the face of the planet. He looked about twenty thousand feet tall to Remus, but was really only a foot or so taller than him, though very thin. He had long light brown hair pulled into a ponytail (probably to keep it out of his eyes while he was beating Remus into submission) and narrow glasses that he was looking through with vivid green eyes, seeming a lot like a hippogriff staring them down to Remus. "Dad!" Minette called to him, tugging Remus along by the sleeve as she rushed over to hug her father.
"Minet! There you are!" the unbelievably tall, evil-hippogriff man pushed through the crowd toward them, smiling. Although Remus was sure he was just trying to lure them into a false sense of security.
"Father, this is Remus Lupin," Minette introduced the two, and Remus tried to convince himself that stabbing sensation in his chest was not a heart attack. He gave a weak smile and shook hands with Minette's father. "Remus, this is my father."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Espoir," Remus managed.
"And you. I've heard of barely anything but you since Minette went to Hogwarts," he said, smiling the same way Minette always did. They were a very smile-y people, this family. "Can I help either of you with your bags, or anything?"
Remus shook his head no, but Minette gave him the cage of her tiny flammulated owl, Icarus. The three of them moved along, and Remus turned to wave good-bye to James and Sirius, who looked as though they were intensely enjoying seeing him in such extreme discomfort and pain.
"I hope you don't mind, it's a bit of a drive," Mr. Espoir said to Remus as left the station and settled themselves into his car. "How did exams and everything go?"
And so began the idle chat of doom, in a car trip that the horrors of which, Remus decided could be re-created in a three-hour film and become an instant hit among lovers of true terror.
That's all for now! I really hope you like it! Please, please review, even if it's saying how crappy I am or pointing out a mistake. It'll at least mean someone's reading this!
