A few days passed and we fell into a sort of pattern. I was in charge of going to get food, and prepared it. I liked doing this, because it gave me a real sense of purpose. They depended on me for something, and we needed to eat. I kept us on a lean budget, but we ate lots of starches and protein to fill us up. It wasn't the healthiest diet, but that was okay.
I also spent a lot of time working on potions. We had quite a full supply, and I was happy about that. I had no idea how long we were going to be here, so I wanted to get the potions done. There were already suspicious looking people circling the block whenever I went out, but I managed to keep a low profile.
I enjoyed the calmness, though. The house was fun to explore and I was otherwise busy. I was preoccupied in the kitchen, making a lunch of stew with some meat I had gotten for cheap at the butcher's.
"Severus Snape!" the security measure in the hallway croaked. I was a little afraid, as I knew Hermione and Ron were upstairs, and Harry was in the Living Room. I pulled out my wand, which had found a permenant home in my back pocket, and leaned in to see who was there.
"It was not I who killed you, Albus," I saw the dust figure explode, then Professor Lupin stepped out from the cloud.
Harry came into the hallway. "Oh, Remus!"
The sound of feet on the stairs was heard, and then Ron and Hermione appeared on the stairs. "Oh, it's just you, Remus," Ron said.
"Really?" Professor- Remus, rather, asked, looking rather angry. "None of you are going to verify who I am? And Katherine's the only one with a wand out?"
They all fumbled for their wands, pulling them out of their pockets. I mean, realistically, we knew that I wouldn't stand a chance against him if he was trying to hurt us and I was the only one with a wand.
Remus sighed, and walked past me into the kitchen. "You lot will be dead by Christmas if you keep that up. Meanwhile, you still haven't verified who I am."
"What form does my Patronus take?" Harry asked, rushing to catch up with Remus.
"Stag," Remus said.
"Good," Harry replied, shuffling awkwardly. "Well, he's, erm, real."
I couldn't help but shake my head at the bizarre scene in front of me. I went to the cabinet and took out the large bottle of Butterbeer I had been saving for a special occasion. They had all settled at the table, so I floated five glasses over to them and took a seat.
Remus threw down a newspaper on the table. Harry's face was blinking up at us, the words "WANTED FOR QUESTIONING ABOUT THE DEATH OF ALBUS DUMBLDORE" scrawled across it.
"Oh dear," I said, bringing my hand to my mouth. This couldn't be good. My eyes shot to Harry, who stared at the paper, his face very pale.
"This is only the beginning," Remus said. "Most everyone got away from the wedding, though. There was some damage done, they burnt down Diggle's house, they tortured Dora's parents... but everyone is fine. Ron, your family is safe, but they're being watched."
"Yeah, I know. My dad sent his Patronus," he said.
Remus nodded. I had no idea that Ron had heard from his family, but it definitely sparked just a bit of jealousy in my chest. Harry had no family to hear from, and Hermione had explained to me how she had hid her parents in Austrailia. I wondered how my family was...
"What's happened to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.
"Attendance is now compulsary," Remus explained. "Voldemort will be watching the children from a young age, and Snape has been made Headmaster."
"Oh," we all sort of made the same sound at the same time... it seemed like we were stunned.
"Anyone who hasn't gotten verifiable, tracealble magical blood in them is facing a rough time..." Remus said. "As well as anyone who associates with Muggles."
We all groaned. This was terrible! "That's- that's-!" Harry sputtered, angrily.
"Yeah," Remus agreed. Then he stood up. "Look, I will be frank. The reason I am here is that the Order believes that Dumbledore left you some sort of... mission?"
"He did," Harry said.
"Can you tell me what this mission is?" Remus asked, leaning in.
Harry shook his head. "If Dumbledore didn't tell you, I don't think I can."
"Do they know?" he asked, waving his hand at Ron, Hermione, and me.
"Yes," Harry said slowly.
"Fine," Remus said. "You don't have to tell me what is going on. But I could protect you, you know what I am, I could use that to your advantage."
"What about Tonks?" Hermione asked.
"What about her?" he asked.
"Well, she's your wife," she said, chewing on her lip.
"I know..." he sighed. He looked away for a moment, then continued. "Tonks is going to have a baby."
"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed. "Congratulaltions!"
Remus, however, did not look amused. He tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.
"So, Remus, shouldn't you be home with your wife then?" Harry asked.
"She is staying with her parents... she'll be fine."
"So, let me get this straight, you would rather run away with us than be at home with her?"
Remus just sighed, and crossed his arms. "I think James would like me to help his kid."
"I think my father would rather know why you weren't at home with your own kid!" Harry fought back. I could tell he was not happy with Remus. The expressions on both of their faces were really scary, but I couldn't help but agree with Harry's point here.
"Look at me!" Remus said, yelling. He pulled at some of his hair. "You've only ever seen me with the Order or under Dumbledore's protection! You don't know how people treat me once they find out what type of creature I am! The kid's better off without having me around."
"Remus, how can you say that?" Hermione asked, her eyes beginning to look watery. "If you were my dad I'd be proud of you!"
"I dunno." Harry said, raising his arms in question. "I wouldn't be too proud of him right now."
Remus stood at his full height, and I saw the shadow of a wolf cross his face. Harry was blown back into the wall, and Remus' coat tail swung around the corner of the door.
Since Harry was closest to me, I went and helped him up. The floor was filthy, and now so was he...
"Harry... how could you?" Hermione asked. She had tears in her eyes. Ron stood up and put his arm around her. I couldn't help but think what an odd stance this was.
"It was easy," he spat. He left the room, and headed upstairs.
I just looked to Ron, his arms around Hermione. Was this really the time for him to try and make a move by comforting her? Really? I wanted any excuse to get out of there. "I'm just going to go- okay, yeah..." I could see they didn't really care about what I was doing, so I went up after Harry.
It was pretty obvious where he had gone, as he left a trail of dust in his wake. It led up to one of the rooms. The sign on the door said the room had belonged to his godfather, Sirius. I knocked softly.
"Harry?" I called. I opened the door, and he was sitting on the bed. The room was messy, stuff was strewn across the floor. I noticed posters on the walls of Muggle women in skimpy bikinis sitting on motorcycles, and couldn't help but chuckle, even if it was an inappropriate time.
"They're not mine," he said, from his spot on the bed.
"I know," I told him. I stepped over a few piles of... stuff and plopped myself down next to him. He was hunched over, one hand on the back of his head and one hand holding a photograph. It was definitely him as a child. "You were adorable."
"Yeah..." he trailed off.
"I'll heal you," I said, moving his hand off his head carefully. I gingerly found the bump that slamming into the wall had given him, and healed it. I couldn't duel someone well, but I could do things that didn't require thinking on my toes.
"Thanks," he said. I took the picture of him and examined it. In the corner of the picture, his father's foot was visible.
"That was... quite an... outburst down there," I said. "Though I'm not sure I really blame you."
"I'm just of the belief that fathers should be there for their children," he said. "I mean, Ron and Hermione can't understand that... they both have great dads..."
"It's okay," I told him.
"How was your dad?" he asked.
"Erm," I wasn't exactly sure what type of answer he was looking for. I didn't know if he just wanted to conduct his pity party or if he was genuinely concerned. Why was he asking me? "He's a great provider... but not the greatest father. There was a rather constant feeling of having been replaced."
"I'm sorry," he said. We locked eyes for a moment. "I want to do it right... y'know?"
"That's sweet," I told him. "However, many years off. Shouldn't we focus on, I don't know, destroying the Horcruxes first?"
"You're right," he said. "Do you think I did the right thing back there?"
"I think so," I told him.
He swallowed and nodded. "Thank you, Kat," he said.
I wasn't sure exactly what I was being thanked for, but I wasn't going to argue. "Any time," I said. "Uhm, I'm going to work on dinner..."
"Stew, right?" he asked. He was preoccupied though, I could tell he was thinking about things at a furious pace.
"Yeah," I said. "It will be ready in a few hours."
I had almost gotten to the door when he called my name. "Kat," he said.
"What Harry?" I turned to ask.
He stood up and took a few steps closer to me. I felt uncomfortable, as he was in my personal space. He leaned in and kissed me. I saw it coming, but didn't have enough time to react. So I let him kiss me. When he was done, I stepped way back.
"You're upset and confused," I told him. I was trying to keep rational, but I knew there was an air of despair in my voice. "You don't want this."
"Maybe I do..." he said.
"Well then you're going about this the wrong way," I told him. "I'm not rebounding with you. That's not how I do things. This isn't how I do things. I'm going to pretend this never happened."
I left quickly because I was very uneasy and needed to get away from him. Luckily, the kitchen was empty, and I didn't spare any thoughts as to where they had run off to. I really didn't care.
I spent a few hours in the kitchen, banging around the pots and pans. I needed to get my frustration out. Keeping it in would only be detrimental to this trip.
Even though we had only been on this trip for a few days, I was feeling like I was the only one who was acting like an adult. While I had volunteered to cook for us, I hadn't signed up for everything. I hadn't had months to prepare for this trip like they had. I was thrust into this without any idea what I was getting in to.
Part of me wanted a Time Turner to go back to that night at the coffee shop and close up early and avoid connecting with them. That part would have left me still with Adam, who I had actually missed more than anticipated. I didn't care that he had been an arse to me, I had a history there and I missed him. Also, I would have been with my family. Instead, I was stuck wondering about them. I knew that if he hadn't already, Dad would have to take his family into hiding if he wanted to keep them in tact. I worried about them. As much as I struggled in my relationship with Vera, Madeline, and Cecelia, I didn't want anything bad to happen to them.
I felt really upset for a long time that someone else had made these decisions for me- that I would leave my family, leave the bloke I'd loved for a year and a half, and leave everything that was good and secure. I was trying to find my new balance here, but I was struggling.
Our trip was off to a rocky start, and all I could do was pray it got better.
Author's Note: DO YOU KNOW WHAT TODAY IS? My one year anniversary of posting fanfiction on this website! One year! YAY! To celebrate, I am having a little party on my blog, which is emilyherselfwrites dot wordpress dot com. You can also find it by going to my Profile page and clicking on 'Homepage'. There will be plot points revealed on the website throughout the day, so please come stop by to see! Let me know what you think. Thanks everyone :)