Chapter 10: Saturday, November 10, 1979
"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and and the whole of nature and its beauty."
-Albert Einstein
Hermione fell into the chair across from Lily, her arms full of files containing the details of the several different flats they had looked at that morning. Lily passed her a menu and began talking about the last flat they had seen.
"It was nice, but I still like that third one we went to best," Lily said.
"I'm not sure I want to live in Tinworth," Hermione admitted. "It's too near the coast."
It wasn't a total lie. Being so close to the coast wasn't exactly the issue, however. It was that Tinworth was the village just off thecoast of Cornwall, and the flat they had looked at there, while it was beautiful, was just a stone's throw away from where Shell Cottage had once stood. The painful reminder of her time there, recovering after being tortured while on the run with Harry and Ron searching for Horcruxes, had been most unpleasant and it wasn't something she wanted to think about every time she stepped outside.
"What about the one in Falmouth?" Hermione said, looking back through the folder. "It was nice and-
"Hermione, the one in Falmouth was tiny. I'm not even sure a house elf would have fit in the bathroom! You can't live there!"
Hermione chuckled and then sighed, rubbing her temples. "I could always look in a muggle area," she suggested. "I lived in one before, I don't mind looking in London or even Yorkshire."
"No, absolutely not." Lily said, waving her hands and shaking her head. "Yorkshire and London are both much too far away!"
Hermione laughed, "Lily, I can't stay with you and James forever!"
"No, of course not. I know that!" she said. "But… What if you could live nearby? There's a small cottage just a few doors down. It's over grown and a bit of a mess but we could fix it up!"
"I don't have an infinite supply of funds, Lily. I can't afford to buy a cottage and put the cost into repairing it."
"Are you a witch, or aren't you?" Lily laughed, "We can repair it magically, obviously. And I doubt it's very expensive to buy. I'm almost certain it's Gringotts owned and knowing the Goblins, they'll be practically giving it away to not have to dirty their hands with it any longer!"
"The money I have is all I have, Lils," Hermione said. "I don't think I can afford to-
"What if I buy it for you? And then you can make monthly payments, like you would for rent!"
"No," Hermione said, "No. Absolutely not."
Lily arched a perfectly sculpted auburn eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest and settling into the back of her chair. "No? Why not?"
"Because it feels wrong! I can't take advantage-
"It isn't taking advantage if I offer it," Lily said. "What if we just go look at it? Make a trip to Gringotts and just see!"
Hermione huffed a sigh of defeat, "Fine. We'll go to Gringotts and see what the cost would be. Do you know the address?"
"24 Church Lane."
"24… That's next door to you, Lily."
"It isn't!" she said, "It's two doors down."
Hermione laughed, shaking her head in exasperation. "Fine. We'll talk to Gringotts after lunch and see what the cost is."
It was something Hermione had come to really enjoy about Lily's company, her persistence. James seemed to take command of situations, but Lily was really the one in charge. Her unyielding generosity and sweet disposition hid the fiery fight in the woman. If she wanted something to happen, it happened. And generally speaking, there weren't too many questions asked about it. Lily was brilliant. Everything she did, had purpose, and Hermione quickly found herself friends with her.
Hermione had a hard time with girlfriends during her own time. The girls in her dormitory at Hogwarts had been less than interested in anything Hermione brought to the conversation. She, of course, had become close with Ginny over the years. But even Ginny struggled to understand Hermione sometimes. Ginny was smart and hilarious and so very clever, but she was also practical and discussing theories and ideas that may not be tangible was something she just didn't thrive on.
Lily thrived under the discussion of theoretical applications of spells and potions. More than once, Hermione found herself talking for hours with Lily about the uses of long dissolved theories of spells. She talked with her about the idea of potion integration to Muggle hospitals, transfiguration theories that had been abandoned by wizards centuries ago, even the possibility of cross-breeding magical plants with cooking herbs to ingest the benefits of something that would otherwise be poisonous.
It had been years since she had been able to have theoretical conversations. Years since she hadn't needed to only focus on things that were applicable to battle, to help further the Order, to create new healing spells or potions between herself and Draco. It was nice to be able to have a conversation and it be just that- a conversation. Words shared among friends without the weight of someone dying in the next room over.
"And Sirius can help fix anything! He's extremely handy to have around that way, you know he bought a muggle motorbike and completely rebuilt the thing! I'm sure he'd-
"Lily, I hate to break it to you, but I get the feeling Sirius isn't going to want to help me fix up this cottage," Hermione said, patting her napkin to her mouth and taking a sip of water.
"Of course he would! Why would you think that?" Lily asked.
Hermione sighed, "I get the distinct feeling that Sirius doesn't like me very much."
"That's not true!" Lily said, "He's just… He just doesn't adjust well to change. He's been through a lot growing up, he just doesn't trust easily. He doesn't dislike you though."
"Say that to the daggers he stares at me every time we're in the same room," Hermione countered. "It's okay if he doesn't. I'm hardly the most likeable person, I know that."
"Hardly the most… Hermione! Are you mental? You're fantastic! Merlin, I don't think I've ever been able to be friends with someone so quickly! Even Remus has said-
"Remus?" Hermione asked, her brows pulling together. "I've hardly talked to Remus. He seems to avoid me like I've got Spattergroit."
Lily grimaced, "Don't take it personally, Remus has a hard time leading… Remus is just slow to trust as well. I know he seems quiet and sweet, but trust me, once you get him talking he'll never shut up!"
Hermione laughed, "I find that hard to believe. He's rather quiet."
"He's soft-spoken, yes. But he's hardly quiet," Lily chuckled. "Get him talking about Defensive magic or desserts and he'll talk until your ears bleed."
"Defensive magic?" Hermione asked, her eyebrow quirking up. He's always been good at it, then.
Lily nodded, "Oh, yes! He's read every book there is in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Scored the highest on his O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s that Hogwarts has ever seen! He rewrites defensive strategies in the backs of the books to be better and more effective in battle. It's unreal!"
Hermione pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, her mind wandering back to the copy of Theory of Dark Curses: Creation, Uses, and Counters she had found at the Shrieking Shack and Remus' comprehensive rewrite of a theory he felt was wrong that was scrawled into the back pages of the book.
They settled the check, Lily nearly thumping Hermione for offering to repay Lily her share of the bill in Galleons since she had no Muggle money with her. As they left the small restaurant, Lily linked her arm through Hermione's and they walked across the street and down a few doors to the Leaky Cauldron, crossing through the dingy old pub and going to the alley behind it to enter Diagon Alley.
Diagon Alley was almost the same as it had been while Hermione was in Hogwarts. With the exception of the later erected Weasley Wizard Wheezes not being present, it looked the same as she remembered. The cobblestone street was packed with people moving in and out of the shops, collecting items for Christmas, no doubt. They made their way through the crowds and finally up the stairs that led to Gringotts.
Hermione was thankful that Lily did the majority of the talking, she was kind to the Goblins, explaining the situation at hand. Hermione could tell the Goblin gave not a single iota of care for what Hermione Granger had been through that led her to her current circumstances of having money but no place to live.
Finally, Lily secured a meeting with the Goblin that handled property seizures and they sat at his desk, staring at him as he went through his files on the property at number 24, Church Lane, Godric's Hollow, Cornwall.
"The cottage is condemned, you understand." The ancient Goblin said, his voice tired but slightly less annoyed than the other Goblins they had encountered in the last hour. "It would be sold as is, with no grace period for-
"That's fine," Lily said. "Sir, if you could just let us know the amount."
He looked over the parchment in his hand, a pair of small, half-moon spectacles perched on the end of his long, crooked nose. His brow pulled upward, his eyes scanning them as his lengthy, gnarled fingers traced words only he could see.
"The property has been secured by the foreclosure and seizure of Gringotts Wizarding Bank for nearly three decades," he began. "The previous owners died without an heir to leave it to."
"It sounds as if it would be beneficial then to collect galleons for the unused property. If it's sat empty and condemned for thirty years, any gold given for it would be a victory, wouldn't it?" Lily said.
"Ten thousand galleons," The Goblin said.
Lily barked a laugh and shook her head, "Mister Kapnuk, is it?" she said, looking at the golden name plate on his desk. "You can't honestly believe my client is willing to give you ten thousand galleons for a condemned cottage that has sat empty for a quarter century. Three thousand."
"You insult me, miss!" Kapnuk hissed, his expression becoming severe. "Eight thousand."
Lily shook her head, "I think not. Thirty five hundred."
Hermione watched as Lily haggled with the Goblin of all creatures, defending every point she made with specific notes of the property. Kapnuk spent the better part of thirty minutes arguing back and forth with her. Finally, Lily crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow at him.
"Five thousand. Five thousand galleons, gold in hand, right now. That's our last offer." Lily said.
"That is fifty percent the asking-
"Then we're done here, thank you for your time, Mr. Kapnuk, but I think we will explore other options." Lily said, nudging Hermione's arm as she stood.
Hermione got to her feet, staring at Lily in disbelief. She had never seen anything like it! Never in a million years would she have had the gall to haggle and argue with a Goblin over something that was Goblin owned. Hermione knew that Goblins did not easily relinquish their holds on anything that was theirs, especially if it went to a witch or wizard.
As they crossed through the front foyer of Gringotts and pushed the door open, Lily laughed, "That was fun!"
"Lily! I have the money! I could have given-
Lily held her hand up, effectively cutting her off, "Just wait."
"Wait? Wait for what?"
A wicked smirk that looked painfully like when Harry had a very stupid idea, split the redhead's face and within seconds, Hermione could hear the patter of feet against the stone behind them.
"Wait!" Kapnuk's voice came, huffing as he ran to catch up to them. "Wait! Ms. Evans, Ms. Granger!"
Lily turned, her arms still folded over her chest as she looked at Kapnuk, "Yes?"
"Five thousand," the Goblin said, huffing deep breaths as he stopped before them. "Five thousand Galleons, gold in hand. I will sign it over to you right now."
Hermione stared at Kapnuk in shock, her mouth dropping open. A Goblin had just chased them into the street to sign a dreadfully low-balled deal to sell a property that was bank owned. She looked back to Lily, a soft smile had taken the place of the mischief on her face and she nodded, sweeping an arm before her.
"Lead the way, sir."
Hermione followed behind them, dumbfounded. What the hell just happened?
The cottage didn't even have protective wards around it, which should have been the first clue to Hermione as to what the state of the inside would look like. James, Sirius, Lily, and Remus all stood behind her. Lily was practically bouncing with excitement as Hermione pushed open the door.
It was obscene how dilapidated and filthy the inside of the small structure was. Structure, Hermione thought, puffing out a humorless laugh, if you can even call it that. There were walls and a roof, barely, but they were there. The flooring had been massively overgrown by the plant life that had taken over the inside, creeping in through the broken glass of the grimy windows.
"Oh that… That smell is fucking revolting." Remus whispered, the hint of a gag in the back of his throat.
"There's definitely something dead in here," James agreed.
Sirius snorted a laugh, "You said 'bit of a fixer-upper' Lils, I think you lied."
"I didn't lie, I just… exaggerated a bit."
"A bit?!" Hermione said, horror evident in her voice as she turned around to face Lily, her eyes wide. "Lily! I just paid five thousand galleons for the inside of a toilet bowl!"
"With shit in it," Remus mumbled, his hand reaching up to his nose to pinch it closed. "Because something has definitely shit in here too."
"With shit in it!" Hermione cried, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Lily! How am I supposed to fix this?!"
"You don't." Sirius said, "You burn it down and start over."
Lily clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth and rolled her eyes. "Well, you lot are being awfully dramatic-
"I don't think anyone is being dramatic, love." James said, flinching as she swat at him with the back of her hand. "Ouch! Okay, okay! We're being a bit dramatic."
"More than a bit," Lily said, turning back to Hermione. "Hermione, all we have to do is some clever wand work and some cleaning."
"Fiendfyre, might help." Remus said.
Hermione blew out a mirthless, desperate sort of laugh as she looked up at him. He stood hunched over, the collapsing ceiling sagging so low he couldn't stand at his full height. His nose was still pinched shut with his hand and he looked positively disgusted. A look, she was sure, was on her face as well.
"Shut up, Remus!" Lily snapped, hooking her arm through Hermione's and dragging her further into the cottage. "I know it's a mess-
"It's a fucking dumpster fire in here," Sirius interjected
Lily shot him a look over her shoulder, but continued pulling Hermione through the cottage. "Just try to imagine it! We get it all cleaned up, the kitchen over here, look at this window! It's enormous! Put a table right in front of it and it's the best view while you eat breakfast! We could get a few comfortable armchairs for the living space, it has a fireplace, I'm sure we could get it connected to the floo, if you wanted. There's two bedrooms, in case you have a guest over!" Lily continued pulling Hermione through the house, noting all of the things she could do with the space, all of the potential the cottage could have once it was cleaned up.
Finally, Hermione sighed, not too deeply, so she could avoid the smell, but enough that Lily understood that she had won.
"Let's get to work then, shall we?" Lily said, her face bright with excitement.
Not only was the cottage completely overgrown by weeds and wildlife, there was a severe Doxy infestation, gnomes that completely torn through the shrubs in the back garden, and after James and Sirius began floating several inches from the ground, laughing hysterically- they discovered a hive of Billywigs in the bathroom.
"Look at this," Remus called, from the master bedroom.
He had stayed behind with Hermione when Lily took James and Sirius back to their home to give them something for the Billywig stings. Hermione stood from the kneeled position she was in, dusting off her knees and walking through the doorway to the bedroom.
On the floor, in the corner, was a large nest consisting of about twelve Jobberknolls, all of them looked to be dead, but they hadn't started decomposing yet.
"I heard a strange noise the other night," Remus said, his hands reaching out to gently stroke the feathers of the small, blue birds. "I've never heard a Jobberknoll scream. It was bloody terrifying."
"Probably because there were so many of them," Hermione said, crouching next to Remus. "What do you think killed them?"
"Who knows?" he whispered, "They could have been stung by the Billywigs or bitten by the Doxys. There could be an ashwinder nearby, or even if the gnomes got to them…"
"You should take them to the apothecary," she said, looking up at him. Even with both of them kneeling on the ground, he was a good foot taller than her. "They're so valuable."
Remus shook his head, "No. I wouldn't want to be sold off as potions ingredients."
"It's not just any potion, though." Hermione reasoned, "Veritaserum… Memory potions… Remus, those are exceedingly difficult to make, and the ingredients are rare. An entire flock of Jobberknolls could have you set up for life."
She watched as his tongue flicked against his lips, wetting them as he pulled the bottom one between his teeth. His brows furrowed and he mumbled unintelligibly to himself for a moment, before shaking his head again. "No," he said. "No. Let's bury them."
In the back garden, under a large, ancient looking tree, they used a spell to dig a hole into the earth. Remus removed his outer jacket, transfiguring it into a small blanket to wrap the flock of tiny blue birds into before placing it into the soil and using his hands to pack the dirt over it.
Watching the large man before her, his knees sunk into the dirt, his hands covered and filthy as he buried them, caused a strange tightness in her chest. He was choosing poverty, choosing to remain without money- and now without his jacket- to do what he felt was right. He was giving up what little he had to give comfort to a flock of dead birds and the knowledge of that generosity made her heart clench.
"There," Remus said, standing to his full height and swiping his palms onto his trousers. "Laid to rest, properly."
"Why?" The question pulled from her throat before she could stop it. She stepped back, her neck craning up to look into his face. "I just mean, why go through the effort for them? I'm not against it, obviously. I just wonder why you wouldn't take the opportunity for financial security."
Remus shrugged, his hand coming up to his face to shove the hair from his eyes. The motion left a trail of dirt in the center of his forehead and Hermione chuckled. "I just wouldn't want to be treated like an experiment, if it were me."
Hermione stepped closer to him, lifting herself onto her tiptoes and reaching up to his forehead. He flinched but didn't move away as he used her thumb to brush the dirt from his brow. She smiled at him, "That's very kind, Remus. There aren't many people who would take that approach."
She stepped away from him again, her arm falling to her side as he stared at her. She watched the depths of his malachite eyes as they swirled with gold, before Remus took a step back, clearing his throat. His eyes rested on her face, searching her for something.
"We should go back to James and Lily's," Remus said, his voice barely audible over the rustling of the late afternoon breeze through the tree. "It's getting late, and they've been over there for hours."
Hermione nodded, "Yeah, you're right."
Remus' eyes lingered on her another minute before he turned away, walking back toward the door to go through the house.
"Hey Remus," Hermione called from behind him. "You buried your jacket. What will you use?"
He turned around to face her, his mouth twisted to the side, in thought. He shrugged, "I run hot," he said. "I'll be fine."
As he turned back around, her feet finally moved forward, following him through the house. They didn't bother to ward or lock the property, seeing as it was still horribly run-down, despite the efforts they had all put into it today. Hermione caught herself watching him as they walked back to the Potter's cottage. His maroon cardigan hung from his frame, small holes in the elbows, where the knit had become threadbare. His trousers were patched and a few inches too short, his socks mismatched, one tan and one blue.
She couldn't help but wonder how someone so kind, so generous and so soft-spoken could have ever been the prey for a Werewolf. How could someone so compassionate and so caring be a slave to the moon, the way Remus was.
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a/n: Super awesome mega love to Mayghaen17, as always, for her alpha help on this story!
This chapter was one of my personal favorites, so I do hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please take a second and leave a review?
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