Disclaimer: Not mine.

His Calling

Chapter 11

In His Brother's Footsteps

Rhea took Remus camping. She taught him how to build a fire outside, and to fish in the streams. She taught him how to pitch a Muggle pup tent, and to use a wand to enlarge it, add rooms and make it comfortable. At night, she would make him shrink it back down and sleep in the small cramped space, or under the stars wrapped only in his jumper.

She taught him how to replace buttons that he would lose from his shirts, and how to use her wand to make simple repairs. Every night at dinner, she made him repeat the rules he would live by. How to avert his eyes, unclench his fists and hide his hands in his pockets, turn away from confrontation and avoid fights. He must be careful, she told him at every turn. She would tap his chest and tell him to remember his father. He died for us, she'd said every day, make him proud.

Remus was excited, that last morning as he ran down stairs and stood in front of the calendar, reached up and marked off the date. Today. He wanted to shout. I go today. His trunk sat by the front door, his barn owl taking its last fight, before its confinement in the travelling cage.

He ran back upstairs and into his mother's room, not understanding how she could sleep late on this of all days. Jumping on the bed, he crawled up and sat next to her, waiting until he saw one eye slowly open.

"Don't tease," he smiled, knowing by looking at her that she too had trouble sleeping.

"I want my hug," she grinned.

"Mum, come on. I'm not a baby you know."

"You are until you get on that train," she sighed. "If you don't want me crying and acting the fool at the station you best hug me here."

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, laying his head on her shoulder and putting his arms around her the best he could. "I love you, Mum."

"I love you too," she sighed. "Whatever will I do without you?"

"Mum?" He sat up suddenly worried for her.

"Let me see … I can sleep in, and read that book that's been sitting there calling me for the past month." She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Or, I could give in and say yes to that nice Auror that keeps asking me to tea."

"Which one?" He scowled at her. "That one that had his face sewn on all wrong?"

"Remus Lupin!" She sat up and looked at him. "He has scars from fighting for the likes of you, don't you ever talk about him that way. And no, not him. The other one, that brings supplies sometimes."

"Ah, Mum, I tease him like that. He calls me…Umm, never mind." He slid to the floor and looked at her sheepishly.

"Spit," she demanded.

"He calls me his furry problem and I call him … we need to go Mum, don't want to be late."

"Remus?"

"Gramms."

"What?"

"Well, he walks like her, and even sits on a pillow."

Rhea sucked her bottom lip in and tried to frown.

"I'll go start the water. Okay?"

She nodded furiously wanting him out of the room before she laughed aloud. Grabbing the pillow, she shoved it over her face and shook with laugher. My gods, she thought. Moody would kill anyone else that would dare to call him Gramms. She would have to tell the boy to keep this to himself.

She swung her legs out of bed to finish breakfast and start on Remus' first day. Part of her wanted to hold him tight and hide him away, and part wanted to see him step on that train and go to Hogwarts with the other boys. They had worked so hard for this, and now that it was here, it was ripping her apart.

Gramms, Rhea thought again, and wished he had a grandmother that had been able to think of him as hers. Not a monster, not like the one that had taken her own son's life. Rhea sighed and got dressed wondering if the memory spell would ever slip, or if Remus was at least safe from her rants.

Downstairs Remus poured the heated water into the pot, measured out the tea, and put it and two cups on the table. He looked at the clock anxiously.

"That best be mostly milk in your cup young man." Rhea scolded. "I won't have you going off without breakfast, at least put some toast in."

"I don't think I should, Mum." He looked at the clock again. "I don't want to be late."

"Remus," she sat down and leaned forward. "If you insist on taking the train it's going to be a long day. I don't know why you have to do this, we live closer to Hogsmeade than London."

"You promised, Mum," he said calmly, then stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm packed, except for my robes that I will put on in the train."

"You remember what I told you about the sorting?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"That it doesn't matter what house I get into, and that just because Marcus got to be in Ravenclaw doesn't mean I will."

"Okay kiddo," she said as she ruffled his hair. "Come on, it's time to see your Mum cry."

Remus got on the train early, far before the rest of the first years. Hurrying to one of the empty compartments, he pressed his face to the window and waved to his mother who stood tearfully looking after him. He tried to look sad and to let her know he would miss her, but it was hard to do with the smile that covered his face.

He pushed his backpack onto the overhead and took the seat closest to the window where he could later sit sideways, putting his back to the darkening sky and face the light, keeping his eyes from changing and alerting others. The door to the aisle opened. An older student looked in, and with a sneer at Remus left to find an empty compartment.

Remus felt his smile slip, and fade again as twice more the door opened, only to slide shut again, leaving him alone. Feeling suddenly unsure, he stood and searched the platform, looking for Rhea, needing her reassurance that he would be okay.

"Remus? Cor, I thought I would see you here."

He spun around and saw an older Peter Pettigrew than he remembered. "Peter?"

"Yeah squirt, who'd you expect?" he grinned.

"You going to sit in here?"

Peter threw his backpack down, and kicked it to the side. "Yeah, most of the uppers have the other seats saved already. You mind?"

"No," Remus grinned back, sitting down in his window seat.

"Where'd you take off to?" Peter flopped down across from him. "Heard your Dad fell off the loft, sorry about that."

"Yeah," Remus shuffled his feet, and tried to scoot back on the bench. "Mum, couldn't keep up the farm so… we…umm, got a smaller place."

"Gramms said we could go to the funeral but there wasn't one."

"He…" Remus stammered, wishing Mum were here to fill in the story, one she had never told him. "He was buried at his Mum's. Muggle you know."

"Yeah, that's what Gramms thought. What house do you think you will be in?"

"Ravenclaw, they're the best."

"No," Peter smirked. "Gryffindor, my family goes way back in Gryffindor."

"Hey," another voice came from the door. "Slytherin, that's where we all go."

Peter and Remus watched the third occupant cram his over packed bag onto the overhead and slouch into the seat closest the door.

"Black?" Peter frowned at him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm Peter, remember?"

"Old Lady Pettigrew's Peter?" he smiled and nodded. "You must be brave to live with that old lady. Everyone says she's a mean one."

"Not so mean," Remus felt he had to save Peter. The look on Pettigrew's face had taken on a sadness Remus could identify with. "Mum said she was more bark than bite."

"Yeah, well… Black's are more bite then bark," the new boy muttered. "My name's Sirius. So who are you."

"Remus Lupin."

"Lupin? Don't think I've heard that one."

"He's a Mudblood," Peter said helpfully. "Well, mixed."

Remus scowled at him, lowered his eyes, then turned to look out of the window. "Looks like they are getting ready to leave."

"Shite," Sirius jumped up and ran out of the compartment leaving Peter and Remus to look after him.

"Where you think he went?" Peter asked.

Remus could only shake his head and swallow, knowing that if he ever dared to swear Mum would have his hide. Didn't matter if she wasn't here, he knew she would know. He swallowed again and looked at the door as the train lurched in its slow start up the track.

Sirius came back with a friend in tow, helped him lift his overstuffed backpack and laughed with him as they fell into the seats when the train lurched again.

"This is Peter Pettigrew, you know the old Pettigrew family, and the squirt is Remus." Sirius nodded to each in turn. "What was it again? Lukin?"

"Lupin," Remus muttered.

"Yeah, whatever," Sirius sniggered.

"James Potter," the fourth offered his name.

Once again the door slid open, and let in a thin dark haired boy and a red headed girl, the others moved down, giving them the seats nearest the door. They looked around uncomfortably and kept their backpacks on the floor between their feet.

"You two new here?" James' eyes travelled down their Muggle clothes resting on the girl's trainers.

The boy shrugged and shifted in his seat. "My Mum went to Hogwarts."

"Just your Mum?" Sirius looked at him closely.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Nothing, so who's your Mum?"

"If you want my name it is Severus, Severus Snape, she was a Prince."

Peter looked at Remus and shrugged before asking the newcomer, "So, you a Mudblood too?"

"My mother is a pure-blood," he looked up to the girl and smirked. "I'll be in Slytherin."

"I don't understand why it matters. I mean, if I am in Hufflepuff or Slytherin why should it matter?" the new girl flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Lily Evans," Severus smirked. "She plans on changing the way things are done here."

"I'll be in Slytherin too," Sirius looked at Severus and grinned. "I heard the rooms are wicked, down in the dungeons and all."

"Where are the Ravenclaw rooms?" Remus asked looking at Lily.

"I'm not sure. Severus?"

"In one of the towers I guess. Why? Do you plan on being sorted with the girls?" he sniggered.

"Umm, no, but my Mum says she and my bro … she was in Ravenclaw and that some of the smartest wizards get to belong."

"Not me, I don't want to be in my mother's old house." Peter added, "Gramms said she was in Hufflepuff."

Sirius sniggered, "Yeah right. I don't think you have much of a choice really. All the Blacks seem to go the same way."

"Don't you want to be in the same house your Dad and Mum were in?" Remus frowned at him.

Sirius hesitated, as a shadow seemed to pass in front of his face. "Nah, don't matter. Does anyone know when the cart comes around?"

"Hungry all ready?" James said in a bored voice. "Gee, and I happen to have a bag from Honeydukes right here in my bag."

"What's that?" Lily asked.

James laughed and opened his backpack, pulling out the sack. Soon all six first-years had fists full of sweets and spent the remainder of the trip talking excitably about Hogwarts. All too soon, Remus noticed the compartment dimming. He lowered his eyes to the floor and feigned to be tired. Putting his back to the window, he laid his head back against the glass and closed his eyes. He kept them closed, pretending to sleep until he felt Lily's hand.

"Remus? We have to put our robes on now. You can see the station coming up."

He rubbed his eyes to cover them until he sat forward and lowered his head, nodding and still pretending to be tired. He knew on the platform, where the lights would be softer, and the contrast not so great, he would be safe, but here he needed to be careful.

"Come on," Peter called back to him. "We'll meet you outside."

"We should wait for him." Lily looked up at Severus.

"Yeah, just move." Severus reached up to the overhead and pulled down Remus' backpack. "I don't want to miss the boats. That's supposed to be the best part."

Remus opened his backpack and glanced up at Lily sheepishly. "I umm, …"

"Lily, go outside so he can get dressed will you?" Severus sniggered, and flopped down on the bench to wait. "Where'd you get that?"

Remus put his hand up to his neck, quickly pulling on the robes to cover the scar. "Loft had a cracked beam. Me and Dad fell."

"That kid Peter, he said your Dad died. Is that how?"

Remus nodded and swallowed, remembering not to talk too much, to tell too many lies, lies that could trip him up later. He needed to stick to the story they had practiced.

"Yeah, don't remember it. I was a little kid."

Severus stood and turned to the door to slide it open, he paused for just a moment, wanting to call the kid a liar. He knew the scar was too new, still an angry purple welt, not the white roping of an old scar. He slid the door open and stepped out. Dumb kid, he thought, dumb liar.

Remus let his eyes look up after he was safely in the boat that carried all the first years across the lake. He sat in the bow, knowing no one could see his face and lifted his chin smiling widely. He had seen the castle before, but not like this. Not against the star filled sky with a thousand candles setting it ablaze, not knowing that he belonged, and not with others his own age. He gripped the bulwark and strained to see the grounds, finding comfort when he sighted the willow tree his Mum had told him about.

He knew then that he would make it, that he was going to be able to stay, that the Headmaster had indeed kept his word. He could finally let out the breath he had been holding since 9 ¾'s.

"Hey, Remus," Peter said nervously, his voice taking on a higher pitch. "It would be neat if we're in the same house."

Remus nodded, not taking his eyes off the castle. He swallowed hard and suddenly felt as small as Peter. "You think we'll be sorted right off?

"We go straight to the sorting, then we have to sit at our tables for dinner," Sirius chimed in. "Me and that Severus, we'll go to Slytherin."

"Why him?"

"I dunno, he said he knows plenty of spells all ready and that Slytherin is the best for hexes."

"You think?" Peter looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah, my dad said the best go there."

"There's the dock," Remus pointed at the edge of the lake. "We finally made it."