One More For The House
Harry continued to stare at the man. The man who Sirius said was his uncle. How could he have an uncle? Even if this man was his uncle, why was he just now meeting him? There was something about this man that he didn't like. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"How old are you, Harry?" asked Lupin.
Harry didn't answer. He was still overcome with shock. This was not his uncle. The man looked like a bum that he had seen on the street, begging for money and smelling like hot grits and armpits. This man, however, smelled nice.
"Go on Harry," Sirius urged. "Tell him."
Harry still didn't answer. He just merely held up six fingers.
"Six already?" Lupin replied. "I haven't seen you since you were one."
So this man knew him. If that was the case, where have he been? Why was Sirius left alone with Sirius, who had to raise Harry by himself, before he met Rachel? Sirius needed a friend and this guy just up and disappeared. He was no uncle to Harry.
"Why don't you go back to bed?" suggested Rachel. "I'll tuck you in."
"Good night, Harry," said Lupin, as Rachel walked Harry towards his room. He waited until they were out of earshot before talking to Sirius in a low voice. "He hates me."
"No, he doesn't. He's just been through a lot."
"You don't think he knows about me believing you to be a traitor?"
"Nah," answered Sirius. "I didn't tell him."
"What?" he said rather angrily. "You didn't tell him anything about me?"
Sirius frowned at his friend. "Well. . .no. Listen, I wanted to tell Harry, but I thought you were still mad at me about James and Lily. Is that why you didn't contact me?"
"Speaking of contacting," said Lupin in the same angry tone. "You could have at least told me that you had switch secret keepers."
"Remus, I. . ."
"I've been watching over you all these years and this is how you treat me?"
"I. . .you. . .what. . .?"
"I've been watching over you and Harry. How do you think I got to your house the night you hired Greyback as a babysitter? How do you think I knew to come to your rescue when Death Eaters surrounded you? Because I've been watching."
"But. . .why?"
"After James and Lily died, I went into shock." When he spoke, it was in a calm voice. "It was like my whole world collapsed around me. I lost my best friends. I couldn't eat. Couldn't sleep. Couldn't even go to work. I got fired from my job and eventually kicked out of my apartment." Then his voice grew cold. "Then that bitch Umbridge made it had for me to get a job and I had to live on the streets. Surviving on what I could manage to find. Did you have to worry about that? No. You have a job. You have a place to live. You have Harry."
"It hasn't all been easy. Fudge has. . ."
"I'm really tired, Sirius," interrupted Lupin. "We can talk about this later."
Lupin lay on the couch, and turned away from Sirius. Sirius could tell that Lupin was hurt, and that's not how he wanted him to feel.
Sirius walked over to Lupin and knelt down so that they were on the same level.
"You can live here," he said in a whisper. "I'm really sorry. None of this would have happened if I were honest with my own feelings. We could live as a family. I'll talk to Harry. I promise."
Sirius waited for Lupin to respond. But he didn't. Sirius got up, stared at Lupin, and then made his way to his room. He was almost inside when Lupin spoke.
"Thanks, Sirius," he said softly. "I'm sorry too. Let's just put the past behind us and live in the present. . .for Harry's future."
Sirius smiled and nodded.
He went inside his room thinking that his life was getting better. He had Harry, a girlfriend, a job, and his best friend back.
Lupin was right. He couldn't keep living in the past and bottling up his emotions. He needed his friends and family to live for the future. Harry's future.