Disclaimer: Not mine. Can I stop putting this on? From now on see previous chapters. Some lines were taken from the movie and book; however, I tried to stay away from those.
Becoming Moony: Return
Remus looked down upon the slightly thin face that lay across the train seat. He looked so much like James it wasn't even funny anymore.
"Is he going to be okay?" asked the bushy haired girl next to him. Remus nodded.
"He'll be fine," replied Remus, "A little chocolate and some rest and he'll be fine."
The girl nodded and looked at the ginger haired male that Remus knew had to be a Weasley. Remus wondered how many Weasley children there were now. He knew Bill, Charlie, and Percy. The twins were tiny when he had met them, so they most likely didn't remember. Remus wondered if this was Ronald, he had been the youngest at the time. Time passed more quickly than you expected, didn't it?
Remus's eyes snapped back to Harry as he stirred and, after a few moments, opened his eyes. The confusion and worry was evident in the large emerald green orbs and Remus had to fight the urge to hug him. Remus still remembered the last time those eyes had looked at him. There was no betrayal anymore, just pain and loneliness. Something that Remus wished he could remove, but it was too far ingrained to banish it completely anymore.
"What happened?" asked Harry, sitting up, "What were those things?"
"Those would be Dementors. They guard Azkaban prison." Remus informed him. Harry nodded and looked at his surroundings.
Remus pulled the bar of Honeydukes chocolate out of his pocket. He always carried some form of chocolate on him, it saved having to find some on short notice. Remus broke it into pieces and distributed it to the three teenagers. He excused himself and left the compartment, mumbling something about the conductor.
It was almost too much to look at Harry for very long, knowing that Harry wouldn't remember him. It hurt. It hurt to know that the little boy he used to play with and change dirty nappies for didn't remember him in the slightest. Remus leaned against the wall just behind the conductor's booth and tried to calm himself. It wasn't everyday that one ran into a long lost nephew of some such and said nephew was in the process of getting his soul sucked out!
Remus was beginning to wish that he hadn't said that he wanted to ride the Hogwarts Express again; Dumbledore had taken to that idea way too quickly. Remus was wondering if maybe, just maybe, he had been set up. There was still Sirius to contend with and a teacher on the train would "derail" him, wouldn't it? Remus snorted at his own terrible joke and opened the door separating the conductor from the rest of the train.
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Remus picked morosely at his Shepherd's pie, it was good, but Remus was not in the mood to eat. The Dementors had completely sucked his appetite from him, plus Remus was feeling particularly nostalgic. Those feelings combined did not make for a very healthy appetite.
As Dumbledore dismissed the school, Remus had a rush of longing. He longed for the time when things were simple, when nobody knew that Remus was a werewolf and couldn't hold a steady job. When he was known as Remus Lupin and not Werewolf AFU974635.
Remus stumbled into his chambers, sincerely wishing that he could get drunk. It was very trying for a werewolf to get drunk; the average werewolf could down three times the amount a human being could. It did, however, make for fun drinking games. Remus remembered Lily's seventeenth birthday when, somehow, Firewhiskey had been smuggled in. Remus had been roped into a ridiculous drinking game; needless to say he had won. It was amusing to see the entirety of sixth and seventh year Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws stumbling around drunk while he sat there grinning. Remus also remembered Sirius being quite lustful that evening.
Remus went to bed drowning in memories and tequila.
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Remus stared down at the students who were filing into his classroom. Sixth year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, how lovely. They wouldn't be nearly as difficult as the Gryffindors and Slytherins.
"Good Morning." said Remus, hoping to Merlin that he wasn't making a horrendous mistake.
"Morning." The class mumbled back. Remus heaved a sigh and decided to just jump into it.
"Who can tell me what the last thing you studied last year?"
There was a mass of snickering and giggling. Remus got the feeling that that particular reaction had a story behind it.
"Okay that has a story to be told. Who, exactly, was your professor last year?" asked Remus, figuring he should know.
"Gilderoy Lockhart, sir." came a female's voice from the back of the class. Remus felt his eyes go wide and raised his face to the ceiling.
"Oh lord, you poor, poor students. Is he still as fabulous as he was when he was a student himself?" said Remus, flinging his hand downwards. The class laughed and nodded.
"He was very…fruity," said a Hufflepuff boy.
"I would imagine so, he was like that when I went to school. Of course, he was two years younger than I was, I didn't really know him that well. I'm glad I didn't if your reactions are anything to go by. Was he really that horrendous of a teacher?" asked Remus, remembering the flowery little blonde who loved to flounce around and flip his curls at anything that moved. Sirius was a favorite of his; Gilderoy would stand right in front of Sirius and flounce around. James thought it was hilarious at the time, until Gilderoy did it to him at least.
"He was horrible! We didn't learn a thing last year!" A Ravenclaw shouted from the middle. Remus laughed, it would figure a Ravenclaw would say something like that.
"Well, on that note, should I just review a little for today? We can start the real stuff next time." Remus asked to a mass nodding of heads.
Remus snickered and turned to one of the books piled on his desk. This teaching tons of students thing was going to turn out all right. He just hoped that all of his classes were this amiable.
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As the third year students filed into the staff room Remus glanced around at the mass of students and encountered a black glare.
"Lupin."
"Severus," said Remus, trying to be as nice as possible. Snape glared and turn to leave. Remus guessed that things would never be okay between the two of them, even if they had been friends once upon a time.
"Right! Now then, who can tell me what is in this wardrobe? Miss Granger?"
"A boggart."
"That is correct! And can you tell the class what, exactly, a boggart is?"
"A boggart is a shape shifter that lives in dark spaces and takes the form of the thing you fear most."
"Correct. Take five points for Gryffindor. And who, besides Hermione, can tell me why this particular boggart has no true shape right now? Harry, want to give it a guess?"
Harry paused, not sure if this was some form of humiliation, and gave a tentative answer, "Because there are too many of us in the room? And it wouldn't be able to tell?"
Remus grinned, "That's correct. Five points for Gryffindor."
Harry smiled and looked at Hermione, who looked a little sour at not being able to answer. Honestly though, thought Remus, the girl sounded like a bloody dictionary! He hadn't even be that bad when he was in his "encyclopedia" stage. The girl needed to loosen up just a tad or life would get boring fast.
Neville Longbottom's boggart made up for everything. Seeing Severus Snape trussed up in a long green dress, vulture hat, and red handbag made up for all the bad that had happened that week. Remus knew that it wasn't quite polite to laugh at a colleague, but it was too funny! Plus the Marauder in him was falling to absolute pieces at the thought of Severus finding out.
When he dismissed the class for the day, without letting Harry or Hermione participate, he noticed the confusion on Harry's face. Remus knew what the boy was thinking; he was wondering why didn't he get to "play" with the boggart? It was simple and if Harry really thought about it, he might realize that Voldemort appearing in the staff room might cause some problems.
Remus just hoped that Harry didn't take it as personally as some would. It wasn't meant to be a personal blow to Harry, it really wasn't. Remus was just trying to protect him from having to deal with that monster once again. But maybe Remus should have let Harry participate…his boggart may not necessarily be Lord Voldemort. Oh well, it was too late to feel bad about it, there wasn't anything he could do.
Remus hurried back to his classroom, the first years were about to arrive and he didn't want them to be on their own for long. Who knew what the first years would do to his books!
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The first full moon after returning to Hogwarts was not as messy, simply because Dumbledore had forced Snape to make the Wolfsbane potion for Remus. That potion tasted horrible! It smelt as bad as Peter's old socks and probably tasted worse. And there couldn't be any sugar in it, the horror!
Remus knew he had to take it though; it was safer for everyone if he did. The upside was that Remus didn't have to be locked into one of the cells in the Bestiary section of the Ministry. Those cells were horrendous. It was made completely out of silver and had electrical wire running up the sides of it. That made for some very painful full moons.
Remus looked through the masses of homework that had managed to pile up in the two days he was gone. How so much work could manage to pile up so quickly was beyond him, he only hoped it wouldn't take forever to grade. A shuffling outside the door made Remus look up. Harry passed the open doorway in a miserable shuffle. He looked very down for some reason. Remus got up to find out; after all, he was Harry's second godfather; even if Sirius, James, Lily, and him were the only ones who knew.
"Harry?" Harry turned, surprise on his face. He obviously had not expected to run into Remus. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Hogsmeade?"
"No. The Dursley's wouldn't sign the permission slip. McGonagall said I couldn't go." Harry mumbled. Remus nodded.
"Well, do you want to come inside? I was planning on making some tea." He hadn't been, but if it would allow Harry to spend some time with someone who cared for him so be it.
The answering smile was well worth the blatant lie Remus had just told. It made Remus feel warm and fuzzy to see Lily's smile again, because Harry did have his mother's heart rendering smile. Harry looked very much like James but it was Lily's eyes and smile that made Harry unique.
Remus pulled out the tin he kept the tea bags in, noting the grimace on Harry's young face. Remus grinned and assured Harry that they were tea bags, no loose tea for Remus, it was far too expensive for a werewolf. Harry gave a relieved smile and relaxed a bit more.
"So, why wouldn't your relatives sign the slip?" asked Remus, putting a mug of tea in front of Harry. Remus put three lumps of sugar in his own cup. Harry grinned at the tabletop before sobering.
"Well, I blew my aunt up." Remus choked on his tea. Harry was quick to amend the statement. "Well, she's not really my aunt. She's my Uncle Vernon's sister. Wait, this isn't coming out right."
Remus stared at Harry in shock as he explained the situation. Harry looked up at Remus with a sheepish expression on his face. Remus couldn't take it anymore; he was going to burst if he didn't! Harry looked on in astonishment as his normally calm and composed professor laughed his arse off. He clearly had been expecting a more admonishing reaction to his "high flying" mistake. It was too funny, though! Harry had clearly not meant to do it, but it was far too hilarious to ignore.
"Well, I suppose that would be an acceptable reason to not sign a permission slip," said Remus as he calmed himself. Harry grinned and agreed softly.
"Yeah, I thought I was going to be arrested. Especially when Minister Fudge showed up at the Leaky Cauldron."
"Oh Harry, they wouldn't arrest you. You are far too young for that, besides it was an accident. Right?"
"Well, sort of. She was insulting my parents over and over and I got sick of hearing it! So I wished she would disappear or blow up or something of the sort. So she did." Harry twisted his hands miserably. Remus put a hand on top of Harry's to get him to stop twisting.
"It's all right Harry, no one blames you for that. Come on, if the Minister understood then everyone else does, right?"
"I guess so. Hey, Professor? Why didn't I get to take a chance with the boggart?"
"Oh, I thought it was rather obvious. I didn't think you would want Lord Voldemort popping up in the middle of the room."
"I didn't think of him, not at first at least. I remembered those Dementors and how I felt."
"That is rather wise, Harry. What you fear is simply that, fear. Many older and greater wizards don't have that kind of comprehension, Harry," said Remus, smiling at the thirteen-year-old across the table. Harry grinned back.
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Remus couldn't believe it. He simply couldn't believe it. Or could he? Harry was more like his father than one imagined in certain aspects. The fact that Harry was in possession of The Marauders Map was astounding. How he had gotten it? Remus had the feeling Fred and George Weasley had something to do with it. Those two jokers were almost worse in their cunningness than James and Sirius had ever been. At least the Weasleys were more playful and friendly in their pranking.
The fact that Harry had run into Severus with it was even worse. Remus hadn't seen the beginning of that particular encounter but was assured that it was ugly. He had seen what had been written on the map, it was genius but still rude.
Actually, now that Remus truly thought about it the comments the funnier it became. When they had set that particular defense mechanism they hadn't been thinking of the damage it could do, but more of the humor. Then again, if Severus hadn't been the butt of so many jokes it might have been funnier to him.
Remus flipped open the map and took a long look at it. It really hadn't changed all that much in the eighteen years it had been at the school. It did have a few rips and stains, but all that it did was add a little more character to the key to Hogwarts. The black ink was starting to wear a little thin, however, a little preservation charm would fix that.
It was rather nice to look at the pieces of parchment that had brought him so many memories. Remus gave a small grin and put his wand to the paper. As the map disappeared Remus gave a sigh behind his grin. That time was over and most certainly wouldn't be returning. It had been nice while it lasted. It was definitely one of the best times of his life.
Remus opened his desk drawer and slipped the map inside, locking it tightly. It wouldn't do for anyone to get a hold of it. Especially with the earlier break-ins. It was terrifying that Sirius could break out of Azkaban and break into Hogwarts, but Remus supposed that it had something to do with Black family traits.
What Harry had said about Peter was confusing. How could he have seen Peter on the map? The map didn't lie, they had programmed it not to! But Remus didn't want to believe that Harry would lie about something that serious. Remus had no idea what to believe in anymore. Things were so confusing and the Dementors surrounding the school certainly didn't help. What was the Ministry thinking! Putting dangerous creatures around students was insane! Remus snorted, mentally grinning at his choice of words. It wasn't as though he wasn't a dark creature himself.
Remus sat in bed for hours, pondering the mystery that had developed in the span of two hours.
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He hadn't been to a Quidditch game in so long he had forgotten the excitement and competition that beguiled it. Remus vividly recalled the last Quidditch match of his seventh year, Slytherin versus Gryffindor, what a bloody match. Both teams were made up completely of seventh year students and had become a death match between them. Remus wondered if maybe that hadn't been part of the reason the rivalry was so bad. The Marauders had certainly targeted a great many Slytherins and so forth. Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy had started it, that was a little known fact of course, but it was true. There had been next to no rivalry in the years before the two and had suddenly exploded the year they arrived at Hogwarts.
Remus grinned as Harry flew past on his Firebolt. Remus didn't know much about brooms, but this one was particularly nice. Whoever had given it to Harry obviously cared about him. Remus wished it could have been him, but that was impossible.
"Gryffindor wins the Cup!" Remus rose with the rest of the professors, a shit-eating grin on his face. James would have been so proud of Harry. He laughed as the players descended in a tight twine. The Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs all streamed out onto the field, dancing and celebrating the downfall of the snake house. Remus took a look at his colleagues and had to laugh. Severus looked as though he had been force fed a basket of lemons, a Cheering potion, and told that Christmas came everyday. Minerva was yelling loudly, sniffling into her tartan scarf and bouncing up and down, slapping Severus in the back of the head on the down. Pomona Sprout was doing an odd sort of tango jig with Sinistra and Flitwick. Albus was grinning around at everyone, his eyes (and robes) looking like a Guy Fawkes sparkler.
Madame Pomfrey grabbed a hold of Remus's arm and gave an excited "Whoop!" Remus laughed and joined in on the "Tan-jig" at Flitwick's insistence. These were some of the oddest people, mused Remus, and they were all teaching the next generation. The people on the field were doing some sort of odd dance to coincide with the professors. They were slinging their arms around, waving their hand in circles, and yelling at the top of their lungs. The Slytherins hung off to the side, disappointment clear. Remus hoped that Draco Malfoy didn't have too hard a time with his classmates; the boy didn't deserve it. Remus knew what Draco had been raised around, but sincerely hoped that it didn't control his every move.
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Remus stared in horror as the scene unfolded on the map in front of him. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were down by the Whomping Willow, duking it out with Sirius. The other person on the map nearly gave Remus a heart attack, his mind flashing to the events that had led to Sirius's imprisonment. Remus watched as the dot labeled Sirius dived at the dots labeled Ron and Peter Pettigrew. The three dots moved quickly towards the opening in the willow, down into it, and beyond. Harry and Hermione were trying desperately to get in as well. Remus knew he had to get going or risk someone getting killed.
Remus rushed out of his rooms and down the hallway, nearly mowing down Trelawney. The woman stared at Remus's back as he disappeared around the corner. Her voice floated after him, total confusion lacing the words she spoke.
He reached the Willow in less time than he thought. What would have normally taken twenty minutes had only taken an astonishing ten! He must have tapped into his werewolf speed at some point. For once in his life Remus was glad he had superior werewolf speed and smell, it helped get him to the group faster. As Remus slipped down into the Willow he had a brief moment of hesitation. Had he cleared the Map? There was nothing for it though, he didn't have the time to go and clear it, he had to go and avert what was sure to be a disaster.
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"He's a werewolf!" Remus closed his eyes and brought his arm out from around Sirius's waist. That blasted girl was too goddamn smart! He knew it would get someone in trouble. Remus turned and gave the three teenagers what he hoped was a smile. It felt more like a grimace and, judging by Sirius's expression, was not quite what he wanted.
"You really are the smartest witch of your age, aren't you?" Hermione had a brief flash of pride before a stoic mask covered her face once again. Proud little shit wasn't she? Should've been a Ravenclaw.
"How long have you known?"
"Since Professor Snape's essay." Remus was going to murder that bloody, no good, f-ing Death Eater! He was going to rip Snape to shreds, bite him into tiny pieces, and use him in a potion!
"Very good, that's what it was meant to do, he'll be so pleased." Remus said, the children not catching the under current of sarcasm. Sirius coughed a laugh out, he had heard it then.
A sudden movement at the doorway had them all turning to it. Nobody was there. Even in the Shrieking Shack that was an oddity. As Ron blathered on about ghosts Remus moved to the doorway. Nothing, absolutely nothing. Odd…
"There are no ghosts! The noises were made by me on the full moons!" snapped Remus, tired off the inane babblings been spouted out. Remus went on to explain the entire story that had led up to his admittance to Hogwarts.
The pain in Sirius's face when Remus recited the Sixth Year prank story made it quite clear to Remus what had gone on in Azkaban. Reliving your worst memories over and over was a pain Remus would only wish on a few people. Sirius was NOT one of them and he never would be. Even when Sirius had first been sentenced Remus hadn't wished that. Dementors were horrible, unnatural creatures that should be returned to whence they came.
The night only got worse as Severus pulled off James's, no, Harry's invisibility cloak. This could not possibly get any worse, thought Remus, mentally slapping himself afterwards. Saying that, even mentally, would only make it happen faster.
Remus shook his head as the two "children" bickered. Even Ron and Hermione were more mature. He wished that Sirius and Severus would give it up and stop fighting with each other.
"Severus, you haven't heard it all. You've simply jumped to the wrong conclusion," stated Remus, trying to stave off more cutting remarks.
"He can't help it Remus, it's more likely a habit by now." snarked Sirius, grinning maliciously. Remus groaned as Snape's face darkened and an amused snort came from the corner. Remus glanced at the three teenagers, turning in time to see Hermione smack Ron upside his head. Harry was looking at the floor in deep concentration, ignoring the bickering going on around him.
Remus moved forward but was stopped by a wand in the face. Sirius growled low at Snape for daring to do such a thing. Remus took a step backwards and tried to play the mediator. It didn't work. Things seemed to worsen in the time they spent standing there.
Sirius and Remus stared on as Harry took on and took out Snape by himself. They both flinched as Harry turned his wand on them and demanded to be told about Peter Pettigrew. Sirius made a huffy noise and Remus glared at him. Now was not the time to be impatient, Harry deserved to know the entire story and Remus said so.
As Remus gave the condensed version of the Marauder Chronicles, understanding began to dawn on Harry and Hermione's faces. Ron was a little dim, plus having a broken leg, he obviously wasn't catching it. That was all right for now though, as long as someone other than Remus had cottoned on.
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Moony shook his head slowly, what was wrong with him? He felt so strange...lost in a way. And the oddest smells were circling him. Padfoot, Wormtail, something that smelt like Prongs, and…ew…potions. What was going on? He must have been clonked on the head harder than he first thought.
Moony looked up and saw three humans. One looked familiar, like Prongs, how odd. The other two were different; he didn't know them, They didn't look like they were going to hurt him, but he had taken far too many chances before, best to get the temptation out of the way. Moony growled and watched in satisfaction as the two took a step backwards, horror covering their faces. The one that looked like Prongs didn't react though.
Moony had a sudden spark of inspiration. Maybe, it wasn't a Prongs look-a-like, maybe it was Prongs's cub! A cub in the pack! How come he didn't know about the happy occasion? His human obviously hadn't been conveying things to him. He didn't want to hurt the cub then, however, the other two were fair game. Moony gave a long howl and moved forward, determined to get the two strangers and protect the cub.
Moony grunted as a large weight slammed into his side. Ouch. He looked and saw a larger, fiercer, and more ragged Padfoot. What in the Goddess's name? What had happened to his mate that caused him to look like that? And where had he been? Humans…thought Moony, humans did this.
Padfoot! You're back!
Moony, you can't attack them.
Why not?
It's not right. They haven't done anything.
Are you questioning me, mate?
Moony growled and put his ears back; mates were not allowed to question their betters. Padfoot realized his mistake and backpedaled quickly. The humans looked on in growing horror as Moony advanced on his lost mate. Good, they needed to learn the consequences of messing with an Alpha wolf.
Moony chased Padfoot into the undergrowth, backhanding him with a large paw at the first chance. Padfoot gave a whine and backed away from the enraged wolf, moving farther into the brush. Moony moved to go after him, but turned when he felt a sharp rock collide with the back of his head. It was that blasted cub! How dare he?
Moony moved towards the cub, hoping to simply scare it into submission but not wanting to hurt a cub. Male or not, cubs were no challenge until their seventeenth year.
A sudden howling interrupted him. Another wolf? In his territory?! How dare they! Moony ran off into the bushes, hoping to track down the wolf that dared to invade his territory. He forgot about the scared humans, impetuous cub, and returned mate and dedicated himself to the hunt.
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Remus watched as the castle he had called home for so long disappeared behind him. He couldn't believe that he had to leave once again. It was all Severus's fault, it really was. If he hadn't opened his gob none of this would have happened. Stupid Death Eater, totally worthless scum...grr. What Remus wouldn't have given to give Snape to Moony. But no, that would only bring larger problems.
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Remus huffed and let himself into the cottage Dumbledore was letting him rent. At least Dumbledore was letting him do that. The man had tried to give the two bedroom Welsh cottage to Remus, but the death glare Remus had given him had changed the old man's mind very quickly.
The quaint little house was fully furnished as well, damn Dumbledore. Remus put his suitcase down in the hallway and set about finding things. Remus turned into a doorway and encountered a piece of furniture he swore he had left at Hogwarts. That blasted red velvet couch sat smack dab in the middle of the room. Remus banged his head against the doorframe, determined to do some damage to his brain cells.
"You know, Remus, that banging your head on the wall burns 150 calories per hour?" Remus spun around and tripped over a small stool in shock.
Sirius Black laughed as Remus stared at him from the floor. Sirius reached down and pulled Remus to his unsteady feet.
"Sirius…what are you still doing here! What about the Ministry? And the…" Remus quieted as Sirius put a finger over his mouth.
"I had to see you before I left. I wanted to thank you for believing me when you didn't have to."
"But…"
"No. Don't say anything…it'll only make leaving harder." said Sirius, moving towards the back door. Remus followed him, his jaw still unhinged. Sirius walked out to where Buckbeak waited. Remus stood back, knowing how some animals got around him, besides the hoof mark on his side still hadn't healed.
"Bye, Remmie." whispered Sirius, pressing a kiss against Remus's cheek. Remus gasped and pressed a hand against the spot as Sirius flew off to some unknown frontier.
A/N: Happy Holidays! Let me know what you think!