Friday 1st July 1977

Lupin House, 19:30

"I don't like this, Remmy," Connie said, chewing her lip.

She had actually been allowed to come over for two weeks this summer. Two weeks only. Not the full month that she used to do. Her parents were too worried about the current state of affairs in Britain but Connie finally persuaded them to let her go - pointing out that she was technically am adult now.

Not that this was most pleasant start to her visit.

"I'll be fine. I always am."

"I don't call cuts and bruises and dislocated limbs fine, Remus Lupin!"

Oh, he had forgotten that she hadn't been here for the progress dad and him had made for his transformations.

"There's a whole lot less of that now," he reassured her. "Only some bruises."

And still the odd dislocated shoulder but dad was a pro at popping that back in now. It was difficult to know just how tightly he needed to be strapped up, after all. He did a lot of growing over the school year which meant Moony grew too. Not that Connie needed to worry herself about that.

That perked her up. Good, he hated seeing anyone be sad over him. Especially things that were outside of everyone's control.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm strapped well in."

And down went the corners of her lips again. Hey, what he said was a good thing.

"You shouldn't have to be strapped in at all."

"It's better than Moo- me going crazy because I can only run in a restricted place."

Strapped to the wall was much better than Moony realising he could run but not really run, if you got what he was trying to say.

Still the frown was on his cousin's face.

"There has to be a better way of dealing with this."

Remus shrugged. "It's not like I can just run free outside."

By himself anyway. Again, she didn't need to know that. No one needed to know that.

"That's what we do in Italy," she argued. "There's areas cordoned off each full moon for werewolves to run in."

"Well, that doesn't happen here."

Something like that would never work her. The United Kingdom just didn't have that sort of view on werewolves. They were dirty, dangerous creatures that unfortunately existed.

And that didn't solve the whole being in horrendous pain as he transformed. Or the whole wolf taking over his mind thing which meant he would still get injured going crazy at himself. Maybe not as much if he was allowed to run off all that energy but he definitely still would.

"It should."

"Well, it doesn't."

That came out a bit more sharply than intended but at least it ensured she didn't say anything more on the matter. It couldn't be helped. This was just how things had to be done. Nothing would change that.

"Connie," John called from above. "You need to come out of the basement now."

Yeah, Remus had to be strapped in and he didn't want Connie seeing him like that.

"Coming, Uncle John," she called over her shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, then," Remus said, stepping further down the steps until he hit the basement floor. "You won't hear anything."

John could do very impressive silencing charms now. His parents didn't bear a peep from him all night.

She bit down so firmly on her lip that Remus half expected to smell blood. Then she flung herself at him in some resemblance of a hug.

"Oh, stay safe," she said softly.

"I will."

The straps would make sure of that anyway. Again, something he didn't need to add.

"Connie!"

"Coming, I'm coming!"

Sunday 3rd July 1977

Longbottom Manor, 11:00

"Frank, you aren't paying attention," Trevor scolded.

Frank startled and gave his father a guilty look.

"Sorry," he apologised.

He hadn't even realised he had drifted off. This was important stuff he was learning, je couldn't just brush it off. This was real responsibility that was being handed to him. It wasn't just simple learning. What he did or didn't do could affect how the Longbottom Estate was run. And he wanted to do that in a positive manner, not a negative. But for that to happen he had to be paying attention. Which he hadn't been doing. That was embarrassing.

"Do you need a break?" his father asked him after giving him a long look. "This is an awful lot to take in at once."

"No. I'm okay."

Frank shook his head. He was fine. Things were fine. He just had to focus. He already knew this stuff. It wasn't hard. It was just applying all his training to real life.

"I think we should take a break," Trevor said, stretching his arms, making something crack. "I could do with a cup of tea." He stood up and clapped his hand on his shoulder. "We'll regroup in about twenty minutes, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

Frank couldn't very well say anything else, could he? And maybe a break would let him sort his head out.

He rubbed at his face, trying focus on his work. It was difficult when his mind was elsewhere. Everywhere. Oh, there was just so much to think about.

It was like he was suddenly aware of everything now that he had left school and there was no longer any exams or tests or coursework to take up his time.

There was the fact that he no longer saw his friends each day. They were all split apart, growing up, being adults. No one even worked in the same place - even the triplets were split up! Frank still couldn't wrap his head around that.

And then there was the fact that he was going to be getting married this summer. And of course, he wanted it to happen. He loved Alice, after all. But it just seemed to make being a real adult all the more... real. Frank was both looking forward to it and felt like it was looming over him. Did Alice feel like this too? They hadn't really talked about it. They were meant to get married this summer, after all. But Alice was still in school and to be honest, Frank was glad. Both for her and for him. She got to study for longer and neither of them had to get married before they were eighteen. Eighteen. That just seemed way too young to him. Especially since Alice would have barely been an adult. Nineteen and eighteen were somehow better.

Of course, he couldn't just forget about the state of the world either. This Lord Voldemort, The Dark Lord, whatever you wanted to call him, was getting stronger and stronger. Nothing the Ministry did seemed to stop him, not even a little bit. And never mind him but his followers were terrifying. He had seen the pictures in the news. How could people do things like that to their fellow humans? And somehow, they were getting worse? How was that possible? How were people not stopping this? They had people for this, didn't they?

All this was happening and he was doing nothing. Nothing at all. Wasn't he supposed to be useful now that he was free of the constraints of school?

Frank looked down at his father's desk and frowned. Instead, he was here. Going over accounts and warding schemes. Which, sure, were important. To the Longbottoms. Nobody else.

He rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair, making it stand on end.

Maybe he did need a change of scenery.

Wednesday 6th July 1977

Potter Manor, 10:00

"Well?" Sirius asked somewhat impatiently.

Why did the letter have to be addressed to James and why did he have to take so much time to read?

The two of them had made Remus promise to send them a letter after every full moon this summer. They weren't going to be with him, after all, and they needed to know if he was okay.

On that note, James didn't seem to realise that he was right here waiting for him to tell him what the letter said. He had been since breakfast. It wasn't like he could just ask about their werewolf friend being a werewolf in front of James' parents. Sirius doubted that they would be open to that. Even though nothing seemed to faze them.

Like the fact that his cousin was blazoned across every newspaper in the country. Why, oh why, did Bellatrix have to be so horrible? She had somehow gotten worse since leaving Hogwarts. But the Potters didn't even give him a weird look for it. They tutted and shook their heads but there were no pointed looks thrown his way. No suspicion. No mistrust. Nothing. And Sirius found this strange. Don't get him wrong, he was glad that they weren't like that but... well, it wasn't what he was expecting.

But this was getting him completely off topic. Sirius had still yet to hear about Remus!

"Hell-ooo, concerned friend here."

Had something happened to Remus? Is that why James was taking so long? He couldn't take it in?"

"Oh," James looked up from the letter. "Remus is fine. He said so right at the start."

"Really?"

Remus put that right at the top and James just had to go and finish the letter before he said anything? Really?

"I mean," James folded the letter. "We both know that he's not really okay. That he's sore and feels sick and dizzy and everything but you know what Remus is like."

Well, that wasn't what Sirius meant when he thought 'Really' but that was also true. He did know what Remus was like. And Remus Lupin would never admit to feeling bad after his transformations. Even when he was well looked after at school and Sirius knew that the transformations were worse at home because he didn't have the same level of care (or three Animagus friends at the ready). Remus had actually told him. On the quiet. Away from James or their friend would be constantly worrying all summer. Or somehow manage to insist that he transformed at Potter Manor. James was like that.

"I meant is that all he said?"

James was holding several sheets of parchment after all.

"Oh," he held them out to Sirius. "No. His cousin from Italy is over and he's got all of his summer work done."

Sirius took the sheets and scanned them, snorting. "Figures."

"Did you really expect anything else from Moony?"

"Definitely not."

There wasn't much more to Remus' letter. Their friend was very aware that the two of them read each other's letter so he saved time and parchment by writing to both of them in the same letter - James just happened to get this one first today. Case in point, he scolded them both for pulling that stunt on their brooms they had told him about last week. Which was unfair because Sirius was not the one who got himself injured (this time at least). And James only got some bruises from rolling across the ground. It was impressive how fast he did that.

He was also asking about their summer work, just asking about Transfiguration -he struggled to get the required length apparently.

Sirius had sort of started - a step ahead of James who, as usual, had done nothing of the sort. Sirius, on the other hand, had finished his Transfiguration (easily, he didn't know what Remus was talking about) and done opening paragraphs for the rest. Most of them were research essays so they couldn't really be done in one sitting. Well, he couldn't do them in one sitting. And he knew James certainly couldn't though he would probably have to if he got up to his usual procrastination. Which he probably would because James was like that.

"We need to get him and Peter over," James said, pulling the letter back.

"Hey, I wasn't finished reading!"

James ignored him as he planned out this proposed visit. "We'll need everyone's favourite snacks too."

"We need Remus to send us each our own letter," Sirius grumbled, taking the letter back.

Saturday 9th July 1977

Tonks' House, 11:00

"Please, mum," Dora begged, following Andromeda out of the kitchen.

"Dora..."

"Just for one night."

And then her mother would see that everything would go well and they could do it more often. It was the perfect plan! Well, it would be the perfect plan if it was actually allowed to happen.

"Dora."

"Oh, please, mum. I thought you wanted to get to know him!"

She was talking about Sirius because of course she was talking about Sirius. The one person she had been trying to get over to her house for years with no success. Well, she was trying again.

Andromeda flicked her wand to clear up the jackets and coats that always ended up hung on the end of the bannisters. They followed her wand into the cupboard under the stairs.

"Of course, I do but it's not po-"

"Then we should invite him! He wants to see you too!"

Andromeda shook her head at her overly-earnest daughter.

"We've been over this, Nymphadora. Not while he still has to live with his family."

"Sirius isn't staying with his family anymore," Dora told her mother.

Who almost dropped the plate she had been directing to the cupboard in shock.

"He what?"

Oh, she thought her mum already knew that. Hadn't Dora told her? Obviously not if the look Andromeda was shooting her meant anything.

"Where is he? What happened?"

Huh. She wondered why Sirius didn't write to her mother. Surely that should have been a thing he would have done? Again, evidently not.

"I'm not sure," she admitted, Sirius didn't tell her the details or anything. "But I know he's not living with his parents. The Potters took him in."

It was kind of freaky, the way her mother stared at her like that. Like she wasn't really seeing her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. He told me. And a bunch of Slytherins were talking about it too."

And being none too careful about who overheard them. Which meant that they wanted people to hear them - whether it was the truth or not. Which is why she had confronted Sirius that day. You didn't trust Slytherins when they were freely giving out information. And Sirius had confirmed it.

"Mum, are you okay?" Dora asked in a concerned tone when Andromeda didn't respond to her.

"What's going on?" Ted asked, poking his head around the door.

"Mum's all shocked at something I said."

It would take too much time to explain the whole Sirius situation now.

"Annie?"

"I... I need to write a letter," Andromeda said in a distracted tone.

She walked between Ted and Dora, a frown on her face.

Father and daughter looked at each other in confusion.

"I thought being able to contact Sirius would be a good thing." Dora said.

Tuesday 12th July 1977

Longbottom Manor, 14:00

"You should do a tour of Europe," his father told him. "That should lift your spirits. Are none of your friends doing that?"

Frank shook his head. All of his friends had had to get jobs after school.

"I always planned to do that with James."

It had been a plan of theirs since before they went to Hogwarts. Tour the continent like their fathers and their fathers had done before them. Everyone from their social circle did so. It was their way of seeing the world before you settled down to focus on your family - whether it was getting married or sorting out your estate or both.

Why was his father even bringing this up? They were supposed to be going over how the Longbottoms typically voted in the Wizangamot. Not exactly a topic that was related to touring Europe.

"Yes, well, he won't be able to do that for another year and you need a break now."

"I'm fine."

His father just raised an eyebrow.

"I just... I just need to distract myself. Through myself into learning about land management and politics and such."

That should distract him quite firmly from the world. Much more than a long holiday. Anyway, he didn't feel like a trip around Europe would settle his restlessness, even if it did distract him. Frank felt like he just wasn't doing enough.

"You should at least go to France and Italy," his father told him. "That's not a full tour but it will get you away from the country for a month or so."

That... that didn't actually sound half bad. Most of the tour around Europe was taken up by those two countries anyway. And there was a lot of art and history and culture there. Yes. He might just do that.

"I'll think about it."

Yes, think about where he was going to stay and what he was going to do. There were always plays to see and monuments to visit. Oh, the possibilities were endless and that was just for two countries!

Thursday 14th July 1977

Potter Manor, 10:00

Hope you are well.

Love, Andy

Sirius absentmindedly traced the familiar letters as he stared into space. How many times had those exact word been written to him since he was what? Nine? Ten? Had Andromeda really been writing letters to him for that long? Secret letters at that. Letters that he never, ever would have wanted his parents to find out about.

But they didn't have to be secret anymore, did they? They were no longer something to hide, not here anyway. They were still below the false panel in the bottom of his trunk anyway. Removing them from there and leaving them out, even tucked into a bookcase, still seemed too risky for him.

Even if they all were just updates on how her, her husband and Dora were doing. And asking about him and Regulus. She had never asked after anyone else, even when Sirius had mentioned Bellatrix or Narcissa. No. Never. Maybe she didn't want to risk talking about them. Or maybe it was just a sore subject to her. Sirius knew that he felt uncomfortable thinking about Regulus and the fact that he had left him behind. Even if it seems like his little brother was doing okay. But that's all it was. The appearance of normality.

Sirius shook his head. There was no use dwelling on that. Not now.

This letter... it was different. It contained a request. A request Sirius never thought would be written to him because it would, in normal circumstances, be impossible. But it wasn't impossible anymore. He thought. But how was he supposed to ask about this?

James poked his head into his room (his room, je still couldn't believe this was his room in the Potters' house) and looked around before settling his gaze on him.

"Oh, there you are! Do you want to... are you okay?"

Sirius had quickly shoved his letter into his pocket instinctively. No one should ever, ever see him reading or writing such a letter.

"Oh, um. Yeah. I'm fine. Good. I'm good."

And that had to be the least convincing way of persuading of that ever. Fantastic, Sirius. Just fantastic.

"That letter at breakfast didn't bring bad news, did it?"

"What?" He had forgotten that this letter had been delivered at the end of breakfast when everyone had been getting up. He hadn't thought anyone had been paying much attention when he said the letter had been for him. Of course, James saw it. He never missed a thing.

"Any bad news in that letter?" James repeated, none too subtly trying to crane his neck.

"Oh, no. No bad news. Good news actually. Well, not really news but there was nothing bad in the letter."

Merlin, he sounded like Wormtail now. Great.

"Huh." was all James said.

Which was good, right? No questions, no weird looks, nothing. Which meant Sirius didn't have to say anything. Nothing at all because no one was making him.

"It was from Andromeda. The letter." He confessed, pulling the letter out.

It was now all crumpled, annoyingly, but that couldn't be helped.

"Your cousin? Tonks' mum?"

"Yeah, Tonks is her surname, remember?"

"I never really think of Tonks having a first name, that's a dangerous proposition."

Sunday 17th July 1977

Snape House, 14:00

Severus flopped down on his bed, wincing as he did so. Okay, that was a mistake. Big mistake. His ribs didn't like that. Neither did his side. Or his cheek. But that was okay, today seemed to be his day for that sort of thing. Making mistakes.

His first mistake had been thinking kt was safe to try and grab some sort of a breakfast this morning. Severus had thought it was safe, there was no noise coming from downstairs. But what he had also failed to recognise was that there had also been no noise of the front door opening and closing, signifying Tobias leaving.

And he hadn't. Left, that is. No. Tobias Snape was very much still in the house, waiting from him.

Actually, maybe his real first mistake had been thinking he needed breakfast. He rarely got it during the summer anyway, there was rarely food for it, and he usually did without. It was the easiest meal to skip. But when he was fresh out of Hogwarts Severus was very much used to having three meals a day.

Anyway, back to his father who was apparently in a horrific mood and who better than to take it out on than his own son?

Severus' next mistake was trying to reason with the man that pathetically came out as pleading. Here he was, seventeen years old, and he was begging a muggle man not to hurt him. Not to beat him. Pathetic.

Of course, it didn't work. Actually, it more than likely made it worse. The belt hit his ribs. His back. His legs. A fist caused the injury to his face. Great. Perfect.

He hated summer. He hated it. And, in particular, he hated the weekends during it. The weekend meant that his father wasn't at work or looking for work down at the job centre. Or pretending to do either. No. He couldn't do that at the weekend so Tobias Snape did what Tobias Snape did best. Drink, shout and hit. The last two were directed at Severus and his mother. Mainly at his mother due to the fact that Severus at an early age had learned to stay out of his father's way when he got like this. Up in the attic or out on the streets. It didn't matter as long as he was away from rough fists.

It was that last bit he had failed at today. Well, not initially. This morning Severus had stayed firmly in his room or up in his little nook he had made himself up in the attic. It had expanded over the years but it was still the same basic thing. Old blankets and pillows bunched up on the floor in whatever position he happened to be reading in and a stack of his books. His own little paradise.

But, like he had mentioned, he had got hungry and gone downstairs. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Severus knew better.

With a heavy sigh, he lifted himself up. No point in feeling sorry for himself. It wasn't like it was going to get better any time soon, was it?

Wednesday 20th July 1977

Smith Sett, 14:30

"Alice. Alice!"

Alice looked up from her textbook to frown at her mother.

"Yes, mother?"

"I was asking you a question, Alice."

"Sorry, I didn't hear you."

The perils of doing her homework in the dining room. But her room was under construction, literally, at the moment. Her room was getting extended which meant a wall had to be knocked down. Which meant it was difficult, impossible really, to work at her desk there. It also made it too noisy to work in the library. She was on the same floor of their rather modest one. It was nothing in comparison to the Longbottom one. Now, that was a Library. It made the Smith one look like a book storage room in comparison.

"You should be listening while I am talking to you. Not getting distracted reading of all things. Unless it's a catalogue of wedding items, of course."

Alice sighed. Her wedding was all her mother had on her mind these days. Yes, it was exciting to think about but they had a whole year ahead of them. They didn't need to spend every waking moment talking about it. Actually, Alice was convinced that her mother talked in her sleep about it.

"I'm doing my summer work, mother."

"Tsch. You know that's not important," she was scolded.

"I'll get into trouble if I don't."

"It's summer work, surely you don't have to put in that much effort?"

"I want to do well in it."

There was no point in rushing through it. A job done well was a job done right.

"I knew you staying on for NEWTS would be a bad idea. Look, you're wasting your time on books."

"It's not wasting my time," Alice said in exasperation.

Would it hurt her mother to be even a little bit supportive of her? Just a little?

"You are," her mother insisted. "What use is this knowledge going to be when you are married? It isn't!" She answered herself, not even giving Alice a chance to respond. "There is no use for it for what you are going to do."

"I want to know it," Alice said in a small voice.

"And? You will get nowhere putting your wants over your needs, you know that. And you need to get married to Frank Longbottom. You need to give him an heir. You need to be a dutiful wife."

Alice already knew all this. Knew it before she could properly walk. It was all she was supposed to be. No more and no less. Definitely no less.

But what if she wanted something more? More than just being a simple wife? She could still do all those things and be something more, couldn't she? Her mother didn't seem to think so but then again, her mother didn't do a lot of thinking full stop.

Alice sighed, knowing her mother wasn't going to let this go any time soon.

"Let me finish this bit and I'll discuss the wedding arrangements," she compromised.

All she got was an indignant sniff in return which she was going to take as permission.

Sunday 24th July 1977

Potter Manor, 15:00

"Is it weird?" Remus asked

Sirius tilted his head to one side, very much like he would when he was Padfoot.

"Is what weird? You're incessant need to read? Yes, that's weird."

Remus rolled his eyes while Peter told him, "That was weak, Sirius."

"I know. I'm off my game," Sirius admitted regretfully.

"Remus is better than you at that sort of thing anyway."

"Excuse me, I'll have you know that I am very good at making scathing remarks!"

"To a toddler," Remus retorted, proving Peter's point.

Sirius did not have an appropriate response for that so folded his arms and pouted. Something his was actually good at and made him stupidly cute looking.

"Is it weird?" Remus asked again, careful to bring his gaze to Sirius' eyes, away from his lips.

"Is what weird?"

"Living with the Potters."

It was safe to ask that question because although they were in James' room, their host was currently having a shower in his ensuite. James had an ensuite.

"Not really."

But Sirius was looking away from him, fiddling with a loose thread on his shirt. It was a new one, Remus thought but he didn't exactly keep track of Sirius' clothes.

"Is it fun?" Peter asked.

"I guess."

Sirius looked decidedly uncomfortable about this line of questioning. Was it because they were prying or because something else was going on? Remus hoped it was the former because it wouldn't be fair to make Sirius go through anything else, surely?

"It's been really great," Sirius amended, a small smile on his face. "The Potters are great."

And that was definitely the truth from him, Remus knew when Sirius lied and he wasn't now. Not that it was surprising, the Potters, in his limited experience, did seem to be really good people. And Sirius smiled more and looked more relaxed with them which were definitely points in their favour.

"That's great, Padfoot."

"What's great?" James asked, returning with a towel around his waist and dripping hair.

"That we're all here," Sirius said easily. "So, we can have some proper fun."

James grinned at them. "I have so many plans."

"Hopefully ones that involved you being dressed," Peter said, pointing to the towel that was now on the floor.

Wednesday 27th July 1977

Longbottom Manor, 10:00

"Mother, I'm only going away for a month," Frank said in exasperation as Augusta added yet more clothes to his trunk.

Sure, it was going to be shrunk and a featherlight charm cast on it but that didn't mean he had to bring an obscene amount of clothes. His mother thought otherwise.

"You need proper evening wear, not just smart clothes," she told him, not deterred in the least by his protest.

Knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with her, Frank sighed and sat on his bed. He could always remove some when she wasn't looking.

"Bring your sneakoscope," she instructed. "It's always good to have a warning in place, especially in these times."

"Yes, mother," he said dutifully.

"Now, onto more important things. Do you have enough socks?"

Friday 29th July 1977

Evans Home, 18:00

"Ouch. Ouch. Ow! Lily!"

Severus tried to squirm away from his friend but only succeed in nearly falling off the dining room chair Lily had dragged into the kitchen.

"You need aloe vera, Sev."

"It stings!"

"Well, what did you expect when you got your back sunburnt?"

"I didn't think I was going to get burnt! You said I was going to tan! Ow!"

Lily had dabbed some more aloe vera onto a particularly red part of his back. It was very raw in some places.

"If you put on sun cream! Did you put on sun cream, Severus?"

"... No."

"Well, there's your problem."

"Wow," Chryssie exclaimed, walking into the kitchen. "Did you lie on the barbecue or something?"

Severus tried to twist away so the younger girl couldn't see. This was embarrassing!

"Severus decided to go sunbathing without any protection."

"Ah."

Suddenly, pain flooded through him as she flicked him on his shoulder. His very red shoulder.

"Idiot."