Along the upstairs hallway, save for the boiler in the cupboard just outside the bathroom, there was nothing to be heard.
In the blue bedroom, Remus' unconscious figure remained strewn across the duvet; saliva had dried along his left cheek, and his pupils remained dilated.
Downstairs things were quite different.
Harry stood by the boiling kettle, as the toaster cooled. Michael and Ashley perched at the table which had, incidentally, become a fortress amid the breadcrumbs the younger duo had tossed at one another each time Harry turned his back. The radio beside the doorway hummed with a steady volume of eighties hit classics.
"Do either of you want to do something useful? Um...load the dishwasher, perhaps?" Harry suggested, not expecting much. When his kids were home, they did the dishwasher so it felt natural for him to offer that chore to someone else. Still, with Michael moaning about his head - both the ache and the breadcrumbs in his fringe - Harry didn't expect a reaction. What he got, however, was quite the opposite.
"Most pots wins!" Michael said, suddenly leaving his chair to collect the plates with their neglected crusts, cold croissants and watermelon. Without knocking over his half full glass of orange, he added the coffee cup and saucer to his pile.
Ashley, on the other hand, had taken to tipping the tomatoes she had picked off her toast and the orange peel onto one plate which made it easier for her to gather them. Making her way to the dishwasher, neatly concealed behind a cupboard door which matched its neighbouring doors, Ashley felt confident in her ability to win the unexpected challenge.
"Don't set a challenge you can't w-"
SMASH!
Ashley's words were cut off as Michael's foot caught the corner of the chair she hadn't entirely pushed beneath the table.
One coffee cup, saucer and uneaten croissant collided with the otherwise immaculately tiled floor.
"Shit, Harry, I'm so sorry-"
"I should have checked my chair-"
"I wasn't watching-"
"I'll pay for the damage-"
"Hey," Harry shook his head nonchalantly, heading to another cupboard to retrieve a dustpan and brush, "It's no big deal - at least they matched. Imagine if it had been a green saucer and a spotted cup? That would have been awful."
"Are you sure it's okay?" Ashley asked, feeling responsible as she carefully took to filling the dishwasher.
"Here, I'll sweep up - it's my fault," Michael said, setting the remaining pots down and reaching for the dustpan before Harry could disagree.
"Jesus," a dazed Remus had appeared in the doorway. Awoken only a moment ago by the smash, he had simply left the bed and found his way downstairs. His trousers were nowhere in sight, instead he was decked solely in his open shirt and underwear, "We've only been here two minutes and we've smashed the place."
"Good morning," Harry greeted him, turning to pour two cups of coffee now instead of one.
Raising a hand, Remus nodded to his host. The name had completely slipped his memory.
"Sit down, I'll get you a snack - can you stomach anything?" Harry continued.
As he obliged, Remus shrugged slightly, "I guess it's worth a try. In theory I think I'll be fine; I usually am."
Having tipped the broken porcelain into the waste bin, Michael returned to his own seat, "That's one mean bruise you're getting."
Remus turned his attention to Michael, frowning, "Me? Why, what did I-" The previous night came back to him, starting with Peter's tuxedo and ending in his drunken affairs on one of Harry's beds which resulted in him hitting his head on the bunk bed above.
Michael nodded and didn't say anything.
Turning defensive, Remus explained, "I can hold my liquor, I'm just not used to people mounting me on a kid-sized bed for a blow j-"
Harry choked suddenly, "The bunk bed? For fuck's sake, that's a kids' room. No one mentioned that in the plan last night. Christ. Get this lot eaten, and then you need to get on your way - the lot of you. Don't worry about the state of the kitchen floor - apparently I've got a bed to sort."
Placing Remus' saucer down with a packet of paracetamol, Harry shook his head at them and left the room.
It was a few minutes before any of them moved, and even then it was Remus who spoke first.
"I think I'll leave an apology note before we go. Don't know whether to go and get my clothes back though-"
"They're here," Ashley said, opening a cupboard door to reveal the tumble dryer, before taking out the only clothing in there, "I'll sweep the floor. I kinda feel bad now - he always lets us stay here when we're too out of it to get home, but we've never broken anything or...well."
Michael said nothing, his face contorted with thought, until several minutes later when he suggested calling for a ride home. The other two agreed to pay him back for the taxi at a later date, and that was the end of any form of conversation for them.
Ashley cleaned, and Remus ate and dressed. Michael made the phone call and wrote an apologetic note for Harry before waiting on the doorstep for the arrival of the vehicle.
"So," Remus began, once both he and Ashley were ready to go, "Who lives closest to...where exactly are we?"
"Not far from where we started the night," Ashley answered first, as her and Remus left to join Michael outside. Closing the door she made sure to push it back to guarantee it had locked, "I live just around the corner but M-"
"I'm based on the other side of town," Michael finished.
Nodding, Remus paced the pathway where the road met the drive, "Okay, cool. My parents own Home Farm so I guess I'm last out?"
"That's where you live? I've heard about it but I've never actually seen it," Michael remarked.
Immediately, Ashley began an interrogation, "Is it true that you have Shetland ponies?"
"No," Michael interrupted, "I heard they were great stallions; enough to rival Black Beauty."
"Poppycock, that's a lie. He has three Shetland ponies and two Jersey cows. My friend Marlene was telling me about the-"
"-did she mention the peacocks? And that the guard dog is actually a wolf?"
Remus was saved from informing his two new friends that his parents owned neither Shetland ponies (nor Jersey cows, nor a wolf, nor peacocks) when a sea-green VW minivan pulled up.
"Someone order a taxi?" The driver called, winding down his window to reveal very little of his features save for the frizzy, unkempt hair which blanketed his head and stood as what could only be described as a mono brow - though there was a shaven millimetre between them. Intimidating brown eyes bore over at the three younger people.
"I guess so," Ashley replied first, muttering to Michael with a frown before hitching her skirt up an inch and heading to the vehicle.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Remus asked, quite audibly.
"Relax," replied the driver in a patronising tone, eyes fixed on Ashley as she pulled open the rear door, "I'm a good friend of Ashley's." He concluded in a way which suggested being a 'good friend' was a very bad thing indeed.
Remus watched as Ashley leant forward, past the driver, to change the radio station.
"Come on, you two," She called over to the others, her voice travelling through the partially open front window.
Once both Michael and Remus had joined her in the van, Ashley pulled the door shut in a way which suggested this wasn't the first time she had been inside the vehicle.
"Do you know him?" Remus asked Michael once the vehicle was in motion. Despite the increasing volume of the music, coupled with Ashley's vocals, the driver appeared to hear Remus and he turned the music down a touch.
"I'm Greyback. Fenrir Greyback."
Remus waited to see if the driver was joking about his name. When it seemed this wasn't the case, he nodded, "I'm Remus."
"I know," Fenrir stated with a smirk, "We met last night but I guess you were out of it by then."
Refusing to be embarrassed, Remus shrugged, "Yeah. It was a pretty whack night out."
Satisfied with their brief conversation, Fenrir nodded and twisted the radio knob until the music returned to its maximum volume. Driving the minivan through the sharp twists in the road with ease, only once did he come close to knocking off his wing mirror.
"I don't know if Ashley mentioned," he began, once again turning down the music. The gentle thrum of the engine did little to cover his voice, "But I have this van for the week; whilst me and my boys are touring. In my opinion, nights off are for the weak so I've scheduled an unofficial gig in an abandoned warehouse just off the A-road heading towards the retail centre. Any takers?" At this, Fenrir turned in his seat for the first time to face his passengers. Maintaining just his index finger on the steering wheel, he looked between the faces of the younger people.
Almost immediately, Michael shook his head, "I'm heading over to Liverpool for my aunt's wedding. I'm not going to be around."
Fenrir shrugged.
"What about my favourite girl?" He asked Ashley in a tone Remus saw as being largely condescending, but Ashley seemed quite taken with.
"Of course, pick me up around eight?"
As he nodded, Fenrir's eyes turned to fix upon Remus'. Soon, all eyes were on him but rather than show his unease, he simply nodded, "Damn right. Are you getting the drinks in or is it each to his own?"
"-or her own."
Eyes glanced at Michael, who smiled sheepishly, before returning to Remus.
"I only drink the best, so me and my boys will get it all in. You might have heard of us," Fenrir continued, turning his attention back to the road just in time to accelerate at an amber traffic light, "A band called The Snatchers? The BBC licks our ass, they love us."
"Nope, can't say I've ever heard of you," Remus pointed out, "Then again, I don't really like all that upbeat pop music-"
"-we don't do pop," Fenrir intervened in disgust, sending Remus a threatening look through the rear view mirror, "Ashley - we're here."
Alighting, Ashley bade them a brief 'see you later' and left the vehicle without turning back.
Once she had gone, Fenrir turned off the music and began muttering inaudibly under his breath, "Fucking pop. I'll show him fucking pop. Christ."
Oblivious, Remus simply took to watching out of the window until he found somewhere he recognised.
"Here will do," he said eventually.
"Aww, I wanted to see your farm," Michael admitted.
Smiling, Remus opened the door, "I've got your number on my arm - I'll be in touch then we can see about it when you're back from the wedding. I swear it isn't exciting though."
"Good. Bye..." Fenrir interrupted, revving the engine suggestively.
"Bye," raising a hand to bid farewell, Remus shut the door and stepped back from the vehicle. Only then did it occur to him that Fenrir had been particularly frosty towards him. He was saved contemplating the reason, however, when his mother rounded the corner. Around her waist was a specially designed dog lead which extended in varying places to reach two Alsatians, a greyhound and a one-eared corgi.
"I wondered when you'd be home," she said, unclipping the corgi to hand the lead over.
"Sorry, I...uh...well. I'm sorry."
"Are you alright to help me get these fellows bathed? Rex thought it would be funny to take us all down the side of Hogs Hill. In this weather, I tell you!" She went on, casting an amused and affectionate glance towards the muddiest of the two Alsatians.
"Sure thing, you remember me saying I'm studying with James tonight though?" He lied, peering at her with an innocence only a son could muster.
"I can't say I do, it must have slipped my mind. You'll have to make your own way though because your dad has one of those meetings to go to..."
At this, Remus stopped.
"What? But I thought that was over. You said he-"
"Remus! I said he was taking a break but ultimately he felt useless not doing anything to help support the cause."
"Cause?" Remus sneered, shaking his head in disgust, "There is no cause. It's the twenty first century! Wales is a positive country, there's no space for dad's right wing trash."
"Shh. Someone might overhear you," Hope interjected, her voice considerably lower.
"Isn't that the point? Pride and all that?" Shaking his head, he continued, "There's a reason most of the prisons around here are full of the English Defence League and the Welsh Defence League. They're criminals. Sexuality isn't a choice anymore than I chose to be born, or Alf chose to be a corgi, dad's group is wrong and if you support them...well, let's just say I won't be staying under your roof much longer."
To this, Hope had no response; her face remained null of any emotion and she refused to state her opinion on the far-right movements her husband followed.
Four hours later, the atmosphere within the Lupin household remained uneasy.
"-and I'll be back before one a-m," Lyall declared, making his way down the hallway past his son's open bedroom door.
"Alright, honey. I'll leave you some pancakes if you're hungry," Hope answered.
Poking his head into Remus' room, Lyall rapped on the door once and began talking without invitation.
"Are you coming along?"
"No," Remus answered immediately, turning on his bed to face dad in the doorway.
"It's about time you grow up," Lyall replied, not too unkindly, "That's only going to happen when you start to understand right from wrong. Before you turn nineteen you'll have to decide where you stand, because I can't keep my manager waiting. He already thinks my opinion is too soft, your lack of support isn't helping my case."
"Okay, I'll have a think," Remus replied, voice completely void of emotion, "Bye, dad."
Another two hours later, he had packed a small bag with his essentials; toothbrush, paste and clean underwear, a book and a pocket multi tool. Down in the garage, he exhaled for the first time since leaving Harry's.
Finding that his father hadn't taken his motorbike was a relief. It was the most convenient means of travel where they lived, after the tractor. Hot wiring, however, was another issue.
"It's too dark down here to see," Remus muttered to himself, trying to visualise the wires in his mind to know if he was doing it right.
After trying three times, the engine began to hum.
Feeling through the dark, Remus sought out and put on his dad's helmet before kicking off and leaving home.
No particularly striking thoughts rang through his mind until he saw the first sign for the retail centre.
"Oh yeah, somewhere around here..." Remus mused, slowing down to take a look around for the building.
Beep!
Beep! Beep!
Turning to look back over his shoulder, Remus just managed to swerve and avoid a very familiar VW minivan overtaking him.
"That manoeuvre was stupid," Remus declared as he removed the helmet. He had quite reasonably followed the minivan to a patch of land he assumed was their designated car park.
"Play nice," someone said, jumping out of the passenger door to look Remus up and down, "I was just going to say how descent your ride looks. Mind if I take a go?"
"Yeah, I mind. Maybe later," Remus dismissed him in a tone which suggested 'later' meant never.
"Remus! You came," Ashley jumped out of the back door, following by five others though Remus was sure the seating was meant for three at most.
"I said I would," he nodded, running a hand through his hair to ease the tension strangers simply stood staring at him.
By some unspoken cue, three of the strangers turning to start gathering boxes and bags from the door they'd just left; where the stuff had managed to fit alongside them, Remus would never know.
"Mind grabbing a few of these?" Fenrir asked Remus, appearing around the front of the van. Whilst the other guys had opted for a casual shirt and jeans look, Fenrir had changed into a pair of leather trousers, Cuban heels and a pristine white t-shirt. The most striking change was the fact he had appeared to have combed back his hair. Even Remus, who thought Fenrir was a bit of an ass, had to admit the look suited him.
"Sure," he responded eventually, "Are we expecting any more people?"
The others snickered in response, before the same person who had asked to try the motorbike replied, "Damn right. It's freezing inside but by the time everyone is here...it'll feel like a sauna - I swear."
"When you've finished dawdling," Fenrir called over the sound of everyone's chatter, "We have stuff to set up. Come on!"