A Snake in the Nest, Chapter Two
A.N. I don't really have anything to say here, so I'll ask a question instead: Who is your favorite HP character? Any character at all (minor ones are preferred, really). I'll keep a note on it and tell you all who won later, if you wish.
Harry was a bit disappointed that they weren't going directly to Remus' house, but cheered up immensely when he realized their errands were in Diagon Alley.
Remus bought them ice-cream while he went into Gringotts quickly, and let them tag along as he bought a few things at a store that Harry had never noticed. He also picked up something at Zonko's, which sounded vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where it was from.
It was just outside Flourish and Blott's that a voice called out to them. Well, two voices, from different directions.
The first was an older man that Harry didn't recognize, though Remus seemed to, as he waved and walked in that direction. The other was far more familiar.
"Harry! What're you doing here?" It was Ron, who was running full tilt at them, not stopping until he very nearly ran into Senri, who stopped him with his arm as he almost toppled over.
"Ah, it's you four. Didn't recognize you in normal clothing…" He looked over them all, grinning like a madman.
"So he's staying there now?" There were nods from everyone (Except Cooro, who had followed Remus to talk to the older man a few yards away). Before Ron could get to the point of his enquiry, another voice interrupted.
"Ronald! What are you- Oh, hello, Harry dear. Whatever are you doing here?" Mrs. Weasley came around the corner, arms laden with purchases and Ginny half-hidden behind her skirt. Ginny saw Harry, squeaked slightly, and disappeared entirely.
"I'm staying with Mr. Lupin and them, and he needed to pick up some things." She nodded, looking thoughtful.
"Ah, Remus? Haven't seen him in quite a while…" She looked on down the alley, where the two men and Cooro were still talking.
"Mrs. Weasley? Do you need any help?" Nana was eying the packages in her arms. Molly looked at her in surprise.
"Oh! No, it's quite all right, I've got them…" But Nana continued to frown, and she broke.
"Well, if you could just take these two, I'll be fine… Ron can take them when we leave." Ron looked up from whatever he'd been saying to Harry and Husky, a look of surprise on his face.
"That's what I meant to ask! If it's all right with Mr. Lupin, can I stay with them for a few days?" She abruptly looked flustered, and annoyed. Remus and Cooro made their way back as she began to splutter.
"Oh, no- you couldn't impose on them… Not with all these as well…" Cooro stopped just outside the circle of people, spotting pigeon feathers and deciding that picking them up was more amusing than the current topic.
"It would be fine Molly. I told these four to invite him already; didn't you do that?" HE turned to Husky, and seeing him busy, looked at Nana. She shrugged.
"Cooro sent the letter a few days ago, but whether it got there or not is iffy." She didn't say it out loud, but all the children (and Remus), thought of all the owl-letters that hadn't made it to Harry's. They'd been passing them through Muggle mail, sending them to Remus' home to get to and from the Weasley's, as they didn't get a post man anywhere near their home.
"Oh… well, in that case, of course he can. Until next Saturday, I suppose?" He nodded, and Ron and Harry both wondered how she'd known. They began walking towards the fireplace, with Mrs. Weasley sending Ron ahead, with some packages, to get a bag packed. Ginny followed with the rest, and they sat on the few scattered benches while they waited.
They boys sat on the ground, discussing something in hushed tones. Nana was asking Mrs. Weasley about a recipe she'd found with odd ingredients listed, and Remus listened to the boys plot, wanting to add something but deciding it wouldn't be appropriate.
Not yet, anyway.
There was a crash as Ron came out of the fireplace, followed by the twins, who seemed far more amused by their current situation than was normal.
"Fred! George! What are you two doing?" The three all stood up quickly, Ron yanking himself and the bag over his shoulder away from them.
"Well, Fred and I were-"
"-Sitting innocently in the kitchen when-"
"Ickle Ronnikins came through the fire-"
"Made a right mess of ash-"
"-And wouldn't say what he was up to."
"So we followed him-"
"-And ended up here."
"Then Fred started to explain-" The second twin turned to the first with a groan.
"No, you're Fred, I'm George." The first shook his head.
"I'm quite certain I'm George, Fred." The second was opening his mouth when Mrs. Weasley cut him off.
"Boys! Don't be rude; say hello to Remus." They looked over at him, unhidden glee in their eyes.
"Hello!" Remus looked at them severely, though his eyes twinkled like mad.
"Good morning. Have you sorted out who is who?" Both nodded.
"Yes. You see, this is Gred, and I'm Forge." They said this simultaneously, and proceeded to bow as Remus broke into light chuckles at their antics. Molly looked like she was going to admonish them, but Remus waved her away.
"No, let them have their fun. Now, we should get going. I will see you in a week, I suppose?" Molly nodded, herding the twins towards the fire again, to their infinite protests.
"But Mum, how come he gets to go see his friends?" They were cut off as the three of them disappeared into the flames.
Remus laughed a bit, then ushered them towards the brick entrance of the Leaky Cauldron. Ron was fairly interested in the car, though less so when Remus told him that it couldn't fly. About to say something, he cut himself off.
The trip was loud, with all the kids talking and laughing, with Remus looking at them all in the rearview mirror with a smile. It had been a while since he'd felt like joining in a silly plot, and yet here he was, waiting for a good moment to join in.
Sirius glared at the place where the face of the viewer usually appeared. Usually being the key word here; there was no-one there right now. No, the book had fallen open in the trunk, and now all the pictures were repeating their actions a thousand times over. All the pictures in the album.
He slipped into one of the photos in the box, but that had fallen open as well. He stayed where he was anyway; in this one, he and Remus sat on a couch in the Common Room. Lily and James sat in armchairs opposite, and Peter on the floor between them. All were engaged in a game of Exploding Snap. He stayed partially because Peter had caught the brunt of the explosion when the picture had been taken, so he got to watch over and over.
It was a small mercy.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX- "Hey! I ain't done here!" Sirius glared at the author, who shrugs and continues to type.
Anyway…
Sirius shifts his attention to above him, where a face is now visible. It is Harry, but he isn't looking at them; he is instead looking over his shoulder, saying something to whoever happened to be there.
His gaze turns to the box, and seems surprised at the mess of pictures. He pulls out a pile, including the one Sirius is sitting in at the moment, all with a look of confusion on his face.
Harry was laughing harder than he thought possible as Ron recounted exactly how the twins had greeted their mother when they'd gotten home.
"… And then, they actually pulled out a Hogwarts toilet seat They really had one! Gave it to Ginny and told her not to worry, it was from the girl's lavatory." Remus laughed with them as he served up French onion soup.
Ron had seemed surprised at Remus, as had Harry. Both seemed to think he would be a drag. Cooro couldn't help wondering why they thought that, and tried to get Remus to tell old school stories.
He sidestepped it by getting food and asking about their year. By the time the whole adventure had been recounted, dessert, a simple apple pie, had been eaten and they were being shown their rooms. The huge house had more than enough rooms for them all, so Harry was right across from Ron, next to Husky. Remus warned them to stay away from the door at the end of the hall, then went back downstairs.
Everyone followed Harry into his room instead of going to their own. He'd told them of the album Hagrid had given him, and they wanted to see it.
Ron was asking him why he had his entire trunk, and he turned to answer as his hand felt for the album.
Instead, it ran across an unfamiliar box and, confused, he turned to look. Inside was an open box, contents half-spilled out into his cauldron underneath it, Carefully, he pulls out the pile of pictures that lay near the top.
"What's that?" Cooro is leaning close behind him, looking at the photos.
"Dunno. They must've fallen in when we got it out of the cupboard. Hang on- these are my parents. It's a picture from school." Not they all were crowding around, sitting on the floor as he looks over the photos. Nana pulls the rest from the cauldron and box, along with the album.
Slowly, they are handed around the circle. They show everything in Lily's life, from birth to her wedding, some in moving pictures, some Muggle ones.
The album was both Lily and James, of course, with a few pictures of Harry mixed in. Finally, the photos were all put away in the box, and the rest of the contents were examined.
Two wands, a few books, four nose-biting teacups, a Sneak-o-scope that was cracked almost in half. Half a chess set, four gobstones, three ornaments for a mantle, and a burnt Christmas tree star. A couple pieces of jewelry, some baby clothes and a single letter. Harry pulled it out to read.
Dear Petunia,
I know we've had our differences over the years, and that you want no part in either mine or James' life, but I want to ask you this one thing:
Please be my maid of honor. You're my big sister, and though we haven't gotten along in several years, I still love you. Please, do this one thing?
Love,
Lily soon-to-be-Potter
There was silence for a long time.
And by long time, I mean about fifteen seconds after the letter was read out loud.
"That's so cool, Harry! Look at all this!" Cooro gestures excitedly to the pile of what seems to be junk. Husky says this out loud, and Cooro actually manages a glare in the midst of his excitement.
"It's not! Look- this is all from their house after it burned." At their strange looks, he shrugs.
"I heard Remus saying it. But really!" He gestures excitedly. "These are so cool! All these pictures of your parents! And a bunch of their stuff I bet you didn't know even existed." Harry looked it all over. It wasn't much, but it was all that was really left of his parents…
"Hey…" They look at Ron, who has pulled out a picture from the pile. It's of James and Lily, along with three other boys tha show up in a bunch of other photos, playing Exploding Snap. The slightly pudgy boy kept having cards explode in his face, and the black-haired one on the couch was laughing loudly.
Next to him sat a brunet that chuckled lightly, but helped the first put out the flames.
"Doesn't he look like Remus?" Harry stared, first at the picture, then at him, then back.
"It is him… which means…"
"He knew your parents back in school." Now there was real silence.
"Oi! Didn't I say for you lot to sleep?" As one, they turn from the photo to where Remus stood in the doorway.
"Hey, Remus! Why didn't you tell Harry you knew his parents?" Remus looked over at them all, startled. Husky speaks up from where he is now lounging against the wall.
"A box of Lily's old school things fell into his trunk when we left. Lot'sa photos in there." Remus groaned a bit, but there was a smile on his face as he did so.
"She went into a photography phase for a while. Wanted pictures of everything…" He sighed.
"Well, you five had better come along, hadn't you?" They follow, and Cooro pipes up again as they walk.
"Don't you mean six?" He looks back, counting as he goes.
"Hey, where's Senri?"
Beautiful roses grow in the bushes outside the house, in a well-tended garden. Senri looks at them carefully, before picking one that has both white and red petals. Pressing it into his book, he begins the walk back to the house, whistling as he goes.
The moon glows behind him, nearly full.
Sirius watches as the various photos in the album and the box are passed from person to person. Harry looks at them all at least twice. Another boy, who looks like Molly's youngest son, is also looking, though he seems more preoccupied with some other thing in his hands than the frame Sirius sits in. He doesn't recognize the other three.
The Weasley boy finally looks down at his scene, and says something to the others. They all crowd in for a look. He tried desperately to read their lips, curiosity getting the better of him.
It is him… which means… Sirius had absolutely no idea what that was supposed to mean, but Ron responds, so he focuses.
He knew your parents when they were in school. Who are they talking about? Him? No, none of thse knids know him, or he would recognize them.
Peter? That would make some sense, but they thought he was dead. Somehow, that didn't fit. It sounded like they were speaking of someone they actually knew.
So it was Moony. Didn't he mention having a few kids staying with him? Yeah; something to do with blood magic portals.
Whoever is holding the photo lets it droop and, without someone the light falling on it, he is allowed to move. Peter's body slumps to the ground, like it always does, and Remus conjures letters explaining what's happening.
I didn't tell Harry I knew Lily and James. I figured it would be easier on him, not knowing all the conspiracies that surrounded their deaths. It looks like there was going to be more, but now the holder (the girly-looking boy from earlier) is moving, and the process is causing the photo to alternate between it's original scene and relaxed state.
They are set on a table, and Sirius looks up to where he could see their viewer. It is Remus, and the children, though none are looking at him, but talking.
That isn't what grabs his attention, though. No, it is the presence of a three-toed rat on the table, staring right at him.
Ha! It's all done~