Chapter Five: Remus Lupin
Remus looked at Harry with a smile on his face. Everyone always had said that he looked just like his father, which was true, but this boy had Lily written all over him. The way he held himself, straight backed- but not arrogant, his build- he wasn't as lanky or tall as James had been, and of course those eyes. Not only were Harry's eyes the exact color of Lily's but also they had the same spark, and at this time the same anger. Remus almost chuckled at the thought; no one could throw a temper tantrum better than Lily could. After an awkward pause, Harry found his voice. "Hi."
"That's more than what I got," Sirius grumbled.
"It's more than you deserve," Harry said under his breath. Sirius prickled.
"Now listen here…" he started, but Remus stopped him.
"Why don't you go into the kitchen and get lunch going Sirius? I'm sure that Harry is very hungry right now, and as we know, your hunger never dies out."
"But Moony…" Sirius whined.
"Go Sirius." Sirius knew better than to ignore that tone of voice, and with a pout, in a very childish manner, he stomped off to the kitchen.
"Why don't you have a seat Harry?" Remus asked in a kind voice.
"Ok."
"Now, as said before my name is Remus Lupin, but you may call me Remus or Moony, as I'm known by my friends. Now you young man, I haven't seen you since you were a baby."
This caught Harry's attention. "You knew me as a baby?"
"I did. Quite a little troublemaker you were, there was this one time when you got a hold of a wand, James' I believe, and you managed to catch your nursery on fire. Lily was furious. I do believe that James slept on the couch for about a week after that." Remus laughed.
"So you knew my parents?"
"I most certainly did, James, Sirius, and P-Lily were great friends at Hogwarts. Or at least, Lily and I were good friends, and I was a good friend with James and Sirius as well. Let's just say that your mother needed a while to- erm, warm up to your father."
"What were they like?" Harry asked hungrily. He had been waiting a long time to hear about his parents.
"James was a great prankster, and he loved Quidditch, the only thing he loved more than Quidditch or pranks was your mother. Lily, on the other hand, was top of the class, and she had quite a temper. But she also loved your father, and they were the some of the nicest, most caring people that I ever had the fortune of meeting. When they died…"
"They died because of BLACK!" Harry yelled, angry and emotional.
"Harry, shh, I know."
Harry was taken aback. "You know?"
Remus nodded. "I've always known, Sirius betrayed your parents."
"Your still friends with him!"
"Shh, not everything is as it appears Harry. I'm going to tell you a great secret, that only the Minister, Dumbledore, and I know. Sirius cannot find out about this."
Harry was silent, but he nodded his head.
"About nine years ago, I was contacted by the Minister, asking me to come and see him at the ministry. I, naturally was confused, as I had only met the man in passing before. But when you're asked personally by the Minister to come, you come. And I did. I went to his office, where he was sitting, with Dumbledore too. He dismissed all of his aurors, and made them stand outside the room and put up a silencing charm. Dumbledore said that they had a very important, very dangerous job for me. At the time I was unemployed, so I defiantly wanted to hear what they had for me. You see, over the last three years there at been many disturbances at your house Harry, someone was trying to get to you, and they were sure that it was Black. They explained the situation to me, and asked me to rekindle my friendship with Black. I, of course, was horrified at the idea. But it was the only way to keep you safe. So I befriended Black, and made sure that he never went after you illegally again. ."
Harry gaped, "So you're not friends with Black?"
Remus shook his head. "Not truly. But my appearance of friendship is more important than ever now Harry, if I'm around no harm will come to you. Black wouldn't dare."
"Remus, Harry, lunch is ready," Sirius called, from what Harry assumed, was the kitchen.
"Why don't you go ahead Harry, I have to write some letters now. Remember, not a word of this to anyone. It's a matter of life and death Harry."
Harry nodded, and was about to the leave the room when he stopped and asked, "Why were you called Moony?"
Remus laughed. "That's a story for another time Harry, now go eat lunch."
As Harry left the room, Remus felt bad about lying to the boy. Well, not really out right lying, but he left out the important details. Like the fact that he had, at first, refused the job. That is, until something happened at the Ministry before he could leave…
Remus walked curiously into the Minister of Magic's office. He had been surprised when an owl had come to his house, requesting him have a meeting with the Minister. And if you are invited to have a meeting with the Minister, you don't refuse. Quite frankly, the werewolf had no clue why he was being invited in the first place. And that is why, when he was escorted into the office, he was only mildly surprised to see Albus Dumbledore there as well, chatting with the Minister.
"Ah, Mr. Lupin, I'm glad you were able to make it today, why don't you have a seat?" The Minister asked.
"Of course Minister," Remus said, sitting down, "How have you been?"
"Mr. Lupin, that question is the very reason I invited you here today. Headmaster Dumbledore and I are concerned." There was a slight pause. "When you were at Hogwarts you were close friends with Lily and James Potter, were you not?"
"I was," the question didn't clear up any of Remus' confusion.
"And you remained close friends up to the time of their death? A kind of unofficial godfather and uncle to their son, Harry Potter?"
"Yes, we were in close contact until the time they went into hiding…a month before they died." Remus heart quickened. Was this about Harry? The werewolf had never allowed himself to get close to The-Boy-Who-Lived after the death of his parents, mostly as a precaution, he didn't trust himself not to just take the baby away. And he wouldn't be able to keep Harry, Remus was too afraid that he would accidentally hurt the boy.
The Minister continued, knocking Remus out of his thoughts, "Then is it safe to assume that you were also friends with Sirius Black?"
Remus froze. "I was once friends with a man named Sirius Black, but as far as I am concerned, he died the night he betrayed Lily and James." He said coldly. Remus hadn't thought about Sirius in at least a year, trying to block out bad memories.
Finally, Dumbledore spoke. "Of course Remus, we understand. The Minister was simply wondering if you were still friends with Black after school."
"I was, before we found out what he was."
"And have you been in correspondence with him since after the death of Lily and James?"
"No, I don't understand what this has to do with anything. I wasn't in league with Sirius, I have had nothing to do with these last two years."
"Of course, of course," the Minister said. "And Sirius Black has everything to do with this meeting. Recently there have been some…disturbances…in the wards surrounding Harry Potter. We have reason to believe that Black is trying to kidnap him."
Remus' eyes widened. "He hasn't gotten to him has he? Is Harry ok?"
"Harry is fine dear boy," Dumbledore said. "But we have reason to believe that Black could find a way to get to Harry, even though we have increased the wards. That is why we asked you here today."
"What do you want me to do? Do you need my help with the wards? Do you need me to watch Harry?"
"No, what we are asking of you today is far more difficult than that Mr. Lupin. We want you to watch Black. If there is someone near him who we can trust we can make sure that he doesn't get to Harry." The Minister explained.
"You want me to spy on Sirius?"
"Basically yes. We want you to befriend him, make him trust you again, and watch him."
"I'm sorry, Minister, Headmaster, I don't think I could I…"
The fireplace in the office lit up bright green, and a small red-haired boy with red hair and horn-rimmed glasses stumbled out. He looked to be about six, and his eyes were swollen and red, he had obviously been crying.
"Percy?" The Minister asked, surprised.
"D-daddy, Scabbers ran away. I think that Fred n' George scared him away…an…and…"
Weasley bent down to his son's level. "There there Percy, I'm sure that we can find him. How many four toed rats can there be out there? Especially with the unique color of his fur."
The little boy, Percy, nodded, but still looked really sad.
"Was his fur dusty brown with a little black spot on his head?" Remus asked suddenly. All eyes shot to him. It was little Percy who answered.
"Yes, it looked like a scab to me, that's why I named him Scabbers. How'd you know mister?" Remus didn't respond.
"Now, Percy I'll help you find Scabbers later. Right now I'm in a very important meeting. Does your Mum know you're here?"
The boy shook his head. "Then you better get back son, before she discovers you're missing."
Percy nodded and called into the fire, "THE BURROW!" He was gone. Dumbledore turned to Remus.
"Are you sure you wont reconsider Mr. Lupin it would be a great service to us all, especially for young Harry."
Remus seemed to be looking far off.
"Mr. Lupin?"
"I'll do it."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
AN- Well I hoped you like, I think Wednesdays work better for me posting, so I plan on postings anywhere from Wednesday through Friday. I promise I wont do this often, but please don't forget to review!
MagicalWinry- Don't you get sick of hearing how much Harry looks like James? But I do think that the beginning of this chapter will make you happy.
Laura- We haven't even come close to the cliffhangers we will get in later chapters.
A preview of the next chapter, to entice:
"Minister, what brings your…delightful presence to my humble abode?"
"Before you BETRAYED them, before you led them to their deaths, before you STABBED them in the back. Would my parents really want to leave me with a murderer?"