Wednesday 2nd September 1981
Diagon Alley, 12:30
If anyone asked, Severus would deny that he hissed as soon as he went outside. Because he did not hiss at sunlight like some sort of bat or something. Even if it was incredibly bright. Oh, yes, he knew it was still sort of summer and all that but that didn't mean he couldn't be surprised at the intensity of the sun! This was England, after all!
Just ignore the fact that he had been inside, bent over a cauldron for the past, oh, well, thirty-six hours or so? Give or take twenty minutes. Well, not all of that time had been spent over the cauldron. He did eat. And there was no way he was going to contaminate his work area with food. So, he had gone and sat at his desk. Once. To refuel. Kind of. He just couldn't remember what he ate or how much he ate. Maybe some sort of a sandwich? Something that was quick to make. And he couldn't even remember chewing anything so he might have actually inhaled it.
But now he was outside because Chryssie had literally sent him a Patronus, of all things, to remind him to actually go out on the fresh air and take a break. Didn't she know how panicked he got when he saw a Patronus? He always associated them with either bad news or a call to arms, so to speak, if someone was in trouble. Merlin, for her just to send one to remind him to take a walk really got his heart racing.
Either way, it got the job done and he was now, reluctantly, outside. Though, he kept to the shaded parts of the street. Everything was just too bright. Maybe he should take his head out of his cauldron more often...
Severus thought about that for a moment before shaking his head. Nah. He was so close to progressing just a little bit further in his research, he could basically taste it. Not that he would be tasting his potion or anything at this point. That would be ridiculous.
And now he was contradicting himself. Okay, maybe the walk was actually necessary. And he supposed that the summer sun felt good. He'd even remembered to take his protective robes off before leaving. Now they were heavy. He would have probably melted into a puddle if he had kept them on!
So, he walked through Diagon Alley, not entirely sure what he ought to be doing. Did he go into the shops or just walk around or what? Looking around, he didn't see anything he really wanted to do. And Merlin, Diagon Alley somehow managed to get even more empty over the past few weeks. Granted, that's what three back-to-back Death Eater attacks did to the economy, he supposed. There wasn't even anyone waiting outside anymore. Hey, he did a double take. Was that? Severus rushed to catch up with the familiar figure.
"Peter?"
Peter had to have jumped at least a foot in the air. Which was a bit of a dramatic reaction, if you asked him.
"Severus!" He said in a panicked voice. "What are you doing here?"
Did he really not get out that much that it was actually a surprise to see him outside?
"I'm being threatened into getting fresh air. Though, I am regretting that decision now because of the heat."
Peter's hand slipped up his left sleeve and he gave his arm a good scratch.
Severus raised an eyebrow. "Heat getting to you as well."
"Uhm, yeah," Peter said with that nervous smile of his (Did he smile any other way?). "It's really hot today, isn't it?"
He pulled a face. Hot was definitely not a strong enough word for it. How long had he been outside now? Ten, fifteen minutes? And he was sweating in places that definitely should not be sweating. Peter must be roasting in his robes.
"Boiling more like."
"Taking my robes off won't even help," Peter complained. "The air is too hot and they'll be draped over my arms anyway."
"Cooling charms faded?" Severus asked knowingly.
Cooling charms did work a treat on robes. The problem was to get the cooling charm to stay for a long period of time AND not to fail just because of a change in temperature. Lily could do it but she was a whiz at charms. The rest of them just had to put up with either not bothering to use them or reapplying them frequently.
"Yeah."
"You getting lunch?" He asked, actually hopeful for some company.
Hey, may as well do two shocking things for him - go outside and want to spend time with an actual person. It was the heat. It was definitely starting to get to him. All the more reason to go and get something to eat. Inside. Though, ice-cream was sounding like a better lunch option the longer he stayed out here.
"Oh. I've, I've just had lunch. I'm going back to the office."
Which probably had really good cooling charms, Severus thought enviously. It was the Ministry, after all. There was no way anyone in there was ever uncomfortable.
"I'll let you get back then," he said sighing, there went his hope of being sociable.
Peter nodded and turned away.
"Oh, Sirius was looking for you yesterday." Severus remembered.
"Yesterday?" Peter had actually spun back around and was now looking guilty.
"Yeah, he was bored and looking for someone to annoy."
Peter laughed that nervous laugh of his. Why did he always laugh like he had done something wrong?
"Looks like I narrowly missed that then."
Severus couldn't help but laugh as well. Peter had a point. A bored Sirius was an annoying Sirius.
Thursday 3rd September 1981
Dumbledore's Office, 22:00
Remus knew that he was swaying on his feet but he couldn't help it. It didn't even matter that he was doing so in front of Albus Dumbledore, he was just too tired to even try and pretend he wasn't.
Actually, he felt like it was impressive that he wasn't already collapsed on the floor. The floor looked pretty comfortable right now. He could just drop down and curl up...
No. No. Je didn't want to do that no matter how tempting it was. He just had to gold on for a few more minutes and then he would be free to go.
He was finally, finally, free of this operation, this job he had been put on. It was over. He had been called back home and he didn't think that he had ever been so thankful.
So, here he was, finally away from that pack and now inside, in where there was furniture and pictures on walls. A lot of pictures because it was Dumbledore's office, he was in. This was the final step before he could go home. Dumbledore was debriefing him. Which was nearly done but he couldn't muster up the energy to be excited about that.
Dumbledore cast a final glance over him and frowned.
"Are you sure that you do not want Poppy to look over you and heal those injuries of yours?"
Instantly, Remus shook his head. He couldn't bear anyone fussing over him right now. He didn't think he would be able to gold it together. That and he just wanted to get back to Dora. He wanted to hold her, breath in her scent, sleep next to her. Je couldn't do that if he was getting needlessly looked over.
As if his injuries could hear him, a twinge of pain shot through his body. Thankfully not strongly enough for him to groan so he could control his response to it. He had had a lot worse, after all. Especially over the last few weeks. Je was fine. He was going to be fine.
Dumbledore gave him a knowing look but Remus tilted his chin up and stared stubbornly back at him. Could the man just not let him go home already? He was fine. Or he was going to be. He just wanted to go home. He could sort everything out there, no problem. He just wanted to leave here and surround himself with all these comforting scents.
Suddenly, he felt a wave of magic around him, almost going under his skin. A growl left him at how uncomfortable the whole process was but he let it go through him - he trusted Dumbledore implicitly, after all.
"That should do until the morning," Dumbledore said approvingly when the magic final stopped.
Looking down at himself, Remus could help but let out a gasp. Most of the dirt had left his robes, he pushed his sleeves back, and his arms too! He looked up at the older man.
"Perhaps not as good as a shower but this way you will not be dirtying any bed sheets."
"Thank you," he said gratefully but a hand was waved dismissively at him in response.
"It's the least I can do, my boy."
It had been completely unnecessary but je was grateful. Less work for him to do. And now he really could just tumble into bed without immediately worrying about a shower.
"Well, I'll be off then," he said awkwardly.
Dumbledore hadn't exactly dismissed him but he hadn't said anything further either. And he really, really wanted to go home.
He beamed at Remus. "Indeed, my dear boy. Give my best wishes to Nymphadora."
"Will do, without calling her Nymphadora."
Both men chuckled at that and Remus waved his farewell and left.
Thank Merlin for his knowledge of the castle and all of its secret passageways. He was outside before he knew it, stumbling over a raised doorway that he had forgotten about in a passage. All he had to do was get outside the gates and apparate home.
Home. Oh, he couldn't wait. Dora and Teddy and a proper bed, proper food and Dora and, and... and well, everything he held dear to him.
That was all the motivation je needed to sprint outside the gates, which swung open as soon as he approached (Dumbledore's doing, he was sure), no matter how tired he was.
And he had to apparate, even though he was possibly too tired to effectively, because he was not going to wake up the entire house by flooing in. No. Definitely not. So, apparating it was. He just had to concentrate.
Crossing his fingers for luck, Remus closed his eyes and apparate home. Ah, even in the dark of the night it looked so warm and welcoming and civilised. He felt the wards as he slipped past them, it was the oddest sensation that he was sure he was never going to get used to, and held his breath as he unlocked the front door.
Phew. No movement and no alarms. He was still keyed into everything. Carefully je went up the stairs and into his and Dora's room. She was asleep, lying diagonally across the bed. He smiled fondly at the sight. Oh, how he had missed her.
He raised a quick silencing ward around the room before he stepped over to the bed and shook Dora awake.
She pretty much jumped out of bed, wand raised, before she realised what was going on.
"Remus?" She asked in a sleep-filled voice, her wand at his throat.
With his arms raised to show that he was no threat, he nodded slowly.
"It's me. I'm back."
She blinked at him, still processing what was happening. And then she gasped and dropped her wand.
"Remus!" She squealed.
And before he knew it, he had an armful of Dora. And ringing ears. Thank Merlin for silencing charms.
Saturday 5th September 1981
Auror Office, 15:00
Marlene was chewing on her bottom lip. An indication that she wanted to ask him something and she knew he was not going to take it well. Which usually meant something about his family.
Great. Just great. He was not in the mood for this sort of thing today. Or ever, really. Did you really blame him? It was the Black family after all. Oh, some days he just wished that he could change his last name and be done with it. If he and Marlene were the marrying type, would he be able to take her name? McKinnon was a much better name. Sirius McKinnon. Hmm. He liked that.
But it still didn't make up for the crappy day. Like having to work on a Saturday. The long shift on a Saturday. And the fact that the Leaky Cauldron ran out of his favourite thing for lunch (he thought people weren't socialising anymore?). And the fact that a suspect had to be met go because of legal issues. It was just all around a bad day.
"What?" He asked in exasperation as Marlene opened and closed her mouth for the fourth time.
If she wanted to say something, she should just come out and say it. If she did, she should just keep quiet. It was as easy as that.
"I, um, well..."
"Oh, just spit it out," he said impatiently over her stuttering.
Had he mentioned that he was in a bad mood today? Which meant he had no patience.
"In just wanted to ask... to ask about," she gulped and took a deep breath. "About Regulus."
Which, unfortunately, was the last straw from him. And what happened next was completely out of his control.
"What do you want me to say, huh?" Sirius exploded. "That I don't know? That I don't know whether or not I'll see my brother, my baby brother, fighting fellow Aurors. My friends. My colleagues. Or maybe even you or James. My family? That I didn't know how high up he is with Voldemort and I don't know what he's done. What he's capable of. Is he even one of those Death Eaters that go out and fight us? Is he behind the scenes? What Does he do for the so-called Dark Lord? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know."
He was breathing hard by the end of that little speech, feeling angry and sad and worried all at once. And he didn't even know who those emotions were directed at, they were all swirling together, out of control.
He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't. He couldn't take it with these thoughts and Marlene looking at him with a mixture of shock and pity and Merlin knows what else. He could. Not. Stick. It. He didn't need this. He didn't want this. Why was all of this coming up now? Why did it even matter.
It didn't matter. It did. It didn't. It did. Didn't. Did. Didn't. Did.
Finally at his breaking point, Sirius let out this primal sound that was both a shout and a growl. Whatever it was, it made Marlene jump but that didn't really register with him because he spun around and stormed out the door. Slamming it behind him.
Diagon Alley, 15:30
He was breathing heavily, leaning against some random wall in some random alleyway. Sirius didn't even know where he was, nor did he care. All he cared about was that he was alone and tired out but he still wanted to stomp and shout and, and, and do something. Anything. Whatever it took to fix all... all of this going on inside his head. He wanted it to go away.
"Are you quite done?" Came a familiar growl, making him jump out of his skin.
"Moody!" He hissed.
But he just got a snort in return. "That slip of a cousin of yours has more wits about her than you."
"Yeah, well," Sirius ran a hand over his face and sighed. "She's got Andy's genes in her. Something sensible had to come from that."
Moody snorted again. The man did that a lot, he noticed. Did it not hurt his nose? Or his throat? How did he even make such a distinctive noise? When Sirius snorted, it didn't sound like that. And you knew it was Moody when you heard his snort. It was a very specific sound. Sirius frowned. Why was he thinking about snorts of all things?
"Wait, you've been watching her?" He asked dumbly.
You couldn't exactly blame him. It was odd behaviour from the older Auror. Moody never watched trainees. Never. He couldn't stand them, he always claimed. Said they were a bunch of nobodies that knew nothing and he much preferred it if they at least had the bare minimum in their heads.
Which was fair enough. He'd probably terrify them anyway.
He got a grunt in return and a dismissive hand wave.
"Not important."
Oh, but it was but maybe not something to bring up now. Especially when Moody was glaring at him like that. Which was really disconcerting now that he had that scar across his face. Maybe be shouldn't have stormed out of work like that... and Merlin knows what everyone else in the office heard...
Monday 7th September 1981
Godric's Hollow, 12:00
Lily hummed as she slowly rocked Amaryllis in her arms. The baby was just drifting off to sleep after a hard half an hour of crying without any let up. The poor thing had exhausted herself. She had tired James and Lily out as well because she would simply not be mollified by anything. Not by getting fed or changed or bounced or burped. Singing had made her cry harder and let's not even talk about how loud she got when they tried to put her down.
But now Amaryllis had basically tired herself out and she was now just making snuggling noises as she fought sleep. Which was thankfully a losing battle. With the tiniest sigh ever, Amaryllis snuggled down into her arms and fell asleep. Lily held her breath, unable to believe it was true.
"Ouchy," Harry said matter-of-factly, pointing to his ears. "Big noise."
Lily winced. Harry might not have been shouting but why did his voice sound so loud? She glanced down worriedly at Amaryllis but there wasn't even a peep out of her. She was dead to the world.
"Shhh," she said anyway to Harry. "Rylli's sleeping."
Harry nodded solemnly and put a finger to his lips. Which was an adorable gesture.
"Mummy will play with you once I put the baby upstairs so she doesn't wake up."
That got her a very vigorous nod.
"No big noise."
"Exactly. Why don't you go and pick out some toys for us to play with?"
Harry gave her a big grin and ran off to do just that. Perfect. Then she looked down at her extremely peacefully sleeping daughter and frowned. Now, how was she supposed to put her down so she could actually do something while she was napping?