The Potters and the Choices Made

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me, but to J. K. Rowling and WB. I'm making no money out of this.

"...and that's how muggles unclog a toilet." As Remus Lupin finished speaking, he watched his pupil, whose face was a mix of confusion and absolute horror.

With a chuckle, Remus reorganized the cards in front of him, which had been used to explain how toilets work in the muggle world. It wasn't the most... pleasant topic to teach, but Dan's reactions certainly made the whole thing quite amusing. He was normally very quiet and reserved, so getting any reaction out of the boy would always be at least interesting.

The boy was really smart and attentive, but he surely didn't know a single thing about muggles. Even the simplest actions of a regular day for muggles, like using matches or watching the telly, seemed to astonish the blond boy. At least he didn't seem to despise it, which was a plus to Remus. He had had to deal with bigoted purebloodists far too much during his time at Hogwarts, thank you very much.

After putting all the cards away, he saw the boy had recomposed himself and had raised his mask of indifference once more. His paler-than-normal face, wide eyes and unfocused gaze betrayed him, though. "Okay," Remus said with another chuckle, effectively getting the boy's attention to him. "Now that that's done, you have a few Arithmancy exercises to do, don't you?"

The boy groaned, but said nothing as he reached for a piece of parchment and the Arithmancy book. Remus just watched, feeling happy he had had such luck of finding a polite boy like that to work full time with. He remembered quite well some of the children he had worked with before accepting the Oxenstiernas' proposal. He knew Dan didn't like arithmancy, being it another subject he was definitely not good at. He watched as the boy started his exercises, a frown on his face as he thought about what he had to write.

Back when he, Sirius and James were Dan's age, Remus knew none of them would ever be so... understanding and resigned. Of course he paled in front of Sirius and James, who had been two ferocious beasts from their late 13s up to their 16s, but Remus had also had his good share of being rebellious, pranking students, disrespecting rules and professors and nicking things. He controlled himself, of course, as he didn't want to push his luck and get kicked out of Hogwarts. Being there was a miracle per se, he certainly didn't need to draw any more negative attention to himself. That's why he was always way more polite and well-behaved than Sirius and James. And he thought, and still thinks, it was a very good reason, if compared to Peter's cowardice.

Avoiding the sour memories and feelings brought by the mere thought of the rat, Remus focused again on the boy in front of him, who was doing his best (and failing spectacularly, Remus noticed with a cringe) to fill in the numerology of some charts.

It was already close to lunch time and they had been working for hours already, so Remus was seriously considering finishing Arithmancy and giving the boy the rest of the day off, both of them really could use some rest. He had to ask Fiskar, the Oxenstierna elf, to make lunch. Or rather, he'd have to ask Dan to ask the House elf to prepare it, as the creature couldn't speak a word in English.

Thinking about lunch made Remus remember that James' birthday was coming, and Lily had planned a Sunday lunch for the whole family. It would be a small gathering, just their closest friends, but Remus had to look after Dan that specific day, and, to Lily, that could be remedied by inviting him over too.

James himself was a bit against the boy's presence in their house, though, as they, and here Remus has to be included, still didn't know the boy's family. However Lily had taken a quick liking of the boy, and if they didn't invite him, Remus wouldn't be able to attend the party, something James would never accept. Oh, and it didn't help that Harry, who had always asked James and Lily for an older brother (something they sadly couldn't provide, older or younger), had really liked the boy the very few times in which they had met. James' say on the matter had been quickly dismissed then, and Remus had been asked to invite Dan to the party.

"Listen Dan," the boy lifted his eyes from the book in which he had been looking for the answers of the exercise and focused on his professor, a curious look on his face. "You remember James, my friend, right?" Remus asked. As usual, upon mentioning James, Remus saw a very faint tinge of pink gracing the boy's cheeks before he focused back on to the book in front of him.

"Yes." Came the answer in a low, impatient tone that suggested Dan wanted everything but to continue this conversation.

Remus sighed. He hadn't really noticed when James had been too obvious on his suspicions, and his friend had sworn he hadn't said anything to boy, but it always seemed like the boy knew of James' wariness around him, as every time the stag animagus was mentioned, his reaction was the same. At first, Sirius' name had the same effect, but now it was only James. It was probably because nobody could be uncomfortable with Sirius for long, Remus reckoned.

"So, it is his birthday this next Sunday, and we're having a small lunch at his house." Dan didn't say anything but his stiffened back showed Remus that he was listening. "He and Lily were wondering if you'd like to come."

There was absolute silence for at least a couple of minutes as the boy stared at the book and Remus stared at the boy. As the werewolf was about to open his mouth to say something, Dan closed the book and looked at his professor.

"Do they want me there?" He asked, showing how uncomfortable he really was. Remus smiled, trying to reassure the boy.

"Of course they do, otherwise they wouldn't invite you."

Dan looked down, focusing on Remus' shoes. "If you want to go alone, it's okay, I can stay here alone, I promise I won't tell my parents."

Remus stopped smiling and reached forward, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. He saw Dan stiffen but he didn't remove it. "We want you to come, Dan. You spend far too much time inside this house alone. You need to spend time with other people too. Don't you want to see Harry?"

Dan quickly lifted his eyes, looking inside Remus' own. There was a pained look inside the boy's eyes that Remus didn't understand at all, but before he could really register it, it was gone. The boy nodded a bit, a small smile on his lips, causing Remus to smile back at him.

"Good, Harry will be very satisfied. He loves when you come over." The boy didn't sat anything as he refocused on the exercise. "You should probably tell your parents, though. Ask if they are ok with it."

Dan tensed again, visibly feeling uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" Remus asked kindly. The boy didn't look up and continued doing the exercise, adding one more number to the chart.

"My parents are on another field work. Left yesteday." He finally said, making Remus feel a bit guilty for asking. Although he did not know a lot about Dan's parents, he knew that they worked as researchers and often went on field trips- only they weren't exactly trips, as they spent months away, basically incommunicable. Dan had never said anything, but Remus could feel that the boy was greatly affected by that. "They will only be available around Midsommar."

Remus had to stop himself from cringing again. Three whole months! It was another record. During those long periods of time, the boy had the instructions to, if necessary, communicate with his mother's sister. The thing is, Dan seemed to hate the woman more than Voldemort himself, refusing to even sending her a gift for Christmas. Remus knew asking the boy to write a letter to his aunt would do no good, but he couldn't help but feel he had to try.

"Maybe you should ask your aunt if-"

"No, I'm not going to ask Aunt. Sir." The boy's voice was fierce and cold, and Remus could feel the boy had forced himself to be respectful. There it was, the rebellion he had been expecting.

"Listen, Dan, I-"

Before Remus could finish his sentence, though, a loud tapping noise resounded across the room, startling both professor and student. Both of them turned to the window and saw a big, brown owl with a package tied to it. Remus relaxed thinking it was just a gift for Dan. His parents would send him something to compensate for their absense... wouldn't they?

The boy stood up and went to the big window that illuminated the whole room. Upon opening it, the owl flew inside, completely ignoring him. Instead, it dropped the box in front of Remus, whose mouth was gaped. He surely hadn't been waiting for any mail.

The owl immediately left, flying through the window, so it was clear that the sender wasn't even expecting an answer. The owl didn't even stop to rest for a bit, and that's another thing that made Lupin's internal alarms buzz. The box did not have any indications of who had sent it either, and the werewolf hadn't recognized the owl...

"Professor, aren't you going to open it?"

Remus quickly turned to look at his pupil, semi-startled when the boy spoke to him, which caused the boy to raise an eyebrow. He had been contemplating the box without saying anything, and was definitely acting suspicious to the boy's eyes, he reckoned.

Forcing himself to calm down and the internal sense of danger to reduce, Remus smiled at the boy, who did not seem very inclided to returning the gesture.

"Dan, do you remember that spell I taught you, that we use to check what there is inside the mail?" He questioned, sounding calmer than he thought he really was. The boy nodded once, which please the professor. "Why don't you try it, then?" Remus gave the boy some space by taking a few steps back.

The boy took his long wand out, it was way longer than any of the Olliwander's that Remus had seen, though he knew next to nothing about Wandlore, so he wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The boy got closer to the box and tapped it once.

"Contentis revelio" the blond boy whispered. He didn't have any immediate reaction, but soon he somewhat relaxed. "It is a potion and a letter."

"A potion?" Remus asked, more to himself than to the boy. Who would send him a potion? He didn't even like potions, nor was he any kind of expert on them. The only times he even had to deal with potions was during his classes with Dan or when Lily discussed an experimental potion that was supposed to help him during his transformations with him. Had she managed to prepare it? Why on Earth would she send it there, anyway?

"Professor?" Once more absorbed in his own thoughts, Remus didn't see the boy getting even closer to the box, a curious look on his face. Looking at the box, Remus understood why, his heart dropping as fast as his spine froze. The package was positively fuming, which could only mean one thing.

Before Remus could shout anything or take the boy away from the box, it exploded with the force of a bomb, pushing the werewolf with enough force for him to bang his head against the wall a few feet behind him and throwing the boy even further away. The box, on the other had, stayed where it was, on the table, but from inside of it a cascade of water started pouring. As the water oozed from the box, a howler flew from inside of it.

The same sick, putrid voice from the last howler filled the broad room.

"By the lakes that thus outspread

Their lone waters, lone and dead,

Their sad waters, sad and chilly

With the snows of the lolling lily"

Dishoriented by the forceful bang to his had, Remus barely had time to register the message as he was fighting with all his might to get to the boy who had been thrown quite a few feet away from the place where he himself had been thrown. The whole room was quickly being filled by the strange, thick liquid that resembled water, but was as dense as liquid metal, and yet, for some reason, everything under this water seemed to sink and, judging by how hard it was to pull his feet out of the water to walk in the direction of the boy, once the person was under the potion they wouldn't resurface very easy.

As soon as Remus made it to the boy, he heard a loud creak that seemed to come from the whole manor. The water was reaching his knees and Dan was already covered by it, so the werewolf had to act fast before the boy drowned. He reached for the necklace James and Lily had given him lots of months ago and shouted "Take me to Prongs" at it. He jumped into the water, which immediately enveloped him, making him sink fast.

As Remus was finally able to reach a hand to grab the boy, he realized that he had been right. That strange potion make it seem like he weighed at least a couple of tons. Fearing his own weight would now crush him, the werewolf watched the necklace that was growing brighter in his hand, hoping it would work.

A louder bang resounded inside the room and this time it seemed as if the manor couldn't keep itself together. The whole house imploded as if the growing potion inside of it was trying to suck everyhting around under itself. One big girder fell, hitting the potion. Instead of stopping it like it should, the potion pulled it down, giving it more force.

The last thing Remus Lupin registered was a sharp pain on the back of his head. By the time the necklace activated, darkness had already claimed him.

Bellatrix was in a good mood, and that hadn't been something easy to see since her Master had been defeated. After everything she had gone through, it was no surprise to anybody that Bellatrix was in a constant sour attitude. After having dealt with the disappearance of her Master (she would never believe that he was gone), she had lost her husband and brother-in-law, she had been badly hurt and she had basically been left alone in her search for Lord Voldemort, and to seek revenge of those who had caused him trouble.

It was a bright morning, and Bellatrix hated those. But she had finally sent her mother's family's potion as a gift to her favourite werewolf, one that she expected that he would literally take to his grave. The diseased beast wouldn't even see what had hit him, she thought, holding back her mad cackle. Normally, she wouldn't, but it was morning, she was happy and her sister and her sister's brat were having a nice brunch with her.

The boy was talking to his mother about one thing or another, Bellatrix didn't really care. The pip wouldn't have anything interesting to say for at least a couple of years, but she took the time to admire him for a second.

The Malfoy/Black mixture had worked quite well, Bellatrix reckoned. The boy had an aristocratic look, and her sister had taught him well. The boy acted noble and seemed to know what was right, treating the elves the right way and making the right decisions despite his father's absence. Of course, had she been the one to raise the boy, he'd be quite different, but still, she didn't have time to deal with the little bug. Children were a loss of precious time, time that would be better spent serving her Master expunge all those mudbloods and blood traitors that had dared to set a foot in the Wizarding world.

"...and that's when I told him that the Goyles are a respectable family-"

Upon (unwillingly) hearing the little prat, Bellatrix finally cackled, effectively startling both the boy and her sister. The untrusting look she received from her sister and the terrified one she received from her nephew didn't go amiss.

"Draco," She said, faking a sweet voice. "The Goyles are a bunch of erumpent dung." Both Narcisa and Draco sat a bit straighter, which caused Bellatrix to laugh again. "Those bastards left our Master out of fear for their own wands. They will pay greatly." Bellatrix said it as if she was announcing that Christmas had been extended to a whole week. She pointedly ignored her sister's hard look as she put another piece of sausage into her mouth, still looking at her nephew as if waiting for an answer.

"Yes, aunt Bellatrix." Draco said carefully as if not to trigger his aunt in any way.

After some minutes of uncomfortable silence, Bellatrix unfocused herself from the other two, who restarted their conversation, albeit a bit more warily.

Upon unfocusing from the dialog, Bellatrix went back to one of her two favourite activities: trying to find a way to help her Master come back. She had spent a good number of years exploring every little place she new that could hold important information about the Dark Lord, but the whole search had revealed itself to be fruitless.

It was then that she had started her second favourite activity: thinking of ways to torture the Potters. It saddened and angered her that she could not plan on their deaths yet. Yes, Bellatrix sometimes thought she had been a bit... impulsive when she had sealed a full ritual with the family of the mudblood. But she didn't care, despite her hastiness, she still had an extra wand under her sleeve. If she found a way to bring the Dark Lord before she had the chance to kill the scum, she knew ways to get herself out of the predicament.

Bellatrix watched her nephew talking to her sister. Maybe the boy would be a good acquisition to her Master once he grew up. He would also be handsome, have good genes to pass down, she could already tell. So much difference from the Potter spawn... Bellatrix couldn't say many bad things about the Potters other than the dishonour they represented to their own blood by being friendly towards mudbloods. They were rich and a Noble and Most Ancient, although she knew they hadn't used that title for a long time. One of her great-aunts had married a Potter, she knew, but that specific aunt had been one of the so called white sheeps of the Black family.

She had met the father of the brat when she was still in the beginning of her career as a Death Eater. She had been visiting her aunt and he was there with the blood traitor she had once had to call a cousin, the (now dead, she thought with a smile) werewolf, and Pettigrew, about whom she'd rather not think. Potter was a capable wizard and very good looking, she'd give you that. His skin was whiter than hers but he had a nice tan from that stupid Quidditch those four idiots seemed to enjoy so much. But that hair and that attitude... Even when she didn't know what would become of him, she had already felt like killing him. Well, she had felt like killing all of those four blithering idiots, and that hadn't changed.

Regardless of anything, though, now, the Potter blood had been ruined. Bellatrix clicked her tongue, attracting the attention to her again, but she paid them no mind. Such a waste! Soon enough the good families would have to go to other countries to find people with respectable blood to marry, and that's not something Bellatrix considered ideal.

The Potter spawn had filthy mudblood in his veins, that is something. She had never met the brat, but she had seen a picture of the boy on the Prophet. She knew the boy would be just like his father and her cousin: a freak, a mudblood lover. The thought itself was sickening. Bellatrix watched her nephew, working hard to be respectable pureblood like it is expected of him, and yet, the other boy was the same age and would be a total disgrace, and his family was okay with it!

Bellatrix's face contorted itself into an ugly, disgusted one as she watched the brat on the other side of the table. They boy was the same age as the Potter scum, she had done the math. She had even realized he would go to Hogwarts with the boy. The boy who had brought her Master down. The boy who was the cause of all her rage. Were those two really different? Weren't they just the same?

Blinded by her own rage, Bellatrix stood up and raised her wand, pointing it at the blond boy in front of her. Before she could even decide with curse to use, though, she herself was having a wand pointed at her.

"Lower your want, Bellatrix." Narcisa ordered as she held her wand near her sister's neck. Bellatrix only cackled before lowering her wand. "Draco, go to your room."

The boy swiftly stood up and left, his face showing how frightened he really was. With a smile on her face, Bellatrix turned to look at her sister who was standing next to her.

"Are you going to curse me, sis?" She asked in a falsely cheery voice. Narcisa only narrowed her eyes before she spoke.

"Point your wand at my son again and I will."

That only made the deranged woman cackle again, but this time her face was feral and there wasn't any smile on it.

"Is that a threat, Narcisa?" She asked, her teeth gritted.

"No, Bellatrix." Narcisa said, lowering her wand. She moved to the door of the dining room which was open since Draco had left. Just as she left the room, though, she turned around to look at her sister, who was still staring at her with an angry look on her face. "That's a promise." She said before she closed the door, leaving the seething woman alone. Maybe the death of the werewolf wouldn't be enough to maintain her good mood then.

A.N.: Poor Remus Lupin. He might not make it. :( If you ask nice enough, though, I might give him a chance. If you want him to survive, that is...