From the playlist:
Because - The Beatles
Friends Will Be Friends - Queen
Chapter 37 - Just Fine
June 3rd
Healers began disappearing from the hospital.
Over the course of the last month, eleven different healers at St. Mungo's had been taken. They seemed to be vanishing right out from under the noses of their colleagues, and probably by way of the Imperius curse. Nobody was sure if Voldemort was going around kidnapping and vetting his own medics, or if he was just trying to make sure St. Mungo's just had fewer people on staff. The whole strategy seemed odd.
Either way, when the bodies started turning up, the Order began assigning patrols at the hospital, too.
Dumbledore was keeping Remus pretty busy behind the scenes, but since he didn't want the rest of the Order to think he wasn't contributing, he'd signed up for that day.
He'd practically crawled back from his third mission a few days prior. Emmeline had begged him not to go in the first place, but after his blunder last month, he felt obligated to make it up to Dumbeldore. He made sure to act with more discretion this time, and nothing especially terrible happened; however, as expected, going without the Wolfsbane again led to a symptomatic mixed-bag of misery, and he came home in only marginally better shape than he had before, which made him feel guilty anyway. His temperature was so high that Emmeline had to take off work just to care for him, and Remus hated having to be that dependent on her, no matter how much she assured him she didn't mind.
Even having lived several years without it before, now that the condition had matured with him, the transformations off the potion seemed worse than he remembered; more severe; requiring a longer recovery time. He had absolutely no idea how the others in the clans managed a life without the Wolfsbane. That made him feel guilty, too.
Dumbledore had commended him on what he reported back though, so that was nice. He finally felt like he was getting the hang of espionage. Remus felt useful. He liked feeling useful. Getting that praise from Albus had offset some of the discomfort of the ordeal. Maybe not all of it, but some.
Maybe not the part where he woke up on the forest floor surrounded by about fifteen other people face down and arse naked again. He suspected that would continue to be very jarring.
Nevertheless, Remus picked up the day patrol, and took turns walking the wards of St. Mungo's with Peter and Marlene - though Peter usually ended up just sticking by him.
"...Moony?" Peter piped up.
"Yes?"
"Have you ever been to the hospital?"
"Been; yes. Admitted; don't think so. Maybe when I was really little."
"Oh. I guess that makes sense."
"You?"
"Once or twice."
"What for?"
"The Black Cat Flu."
"Ah. Not fun, I take it?"
"Not a bit. Couldn't stop sneezing. And now I hate hospitals."
Remus chuckled.
"...I suppose it's not really fair to whinge about hospitals or Black Cat Flu to you, is it?"
"Maybe not here, Wormtail." Remus requested, dodging the eyes of a passing healer.
"Right, sorry…"
Remus could tell that Peter was growing restless. He always got chatty when he was itching to leave.
"How do you think Marlene's faring upstairs?"
"Well for starters, Marlene can handle herself," Remus began, "and secondly, if something had gone wrong, she would've told us."
"...It's nice to be on a patrol during the day for once. I hate night patrols. Too hard to see."
"Wormtail, you hate patrols, period."
"Well they split us up into such small groups! I would prefer if they just sent the four of us out together every time; you, me, Pad and Prongs. Then I feel like everyone has my back."
"Everyone in the Order's got each others' backs, Pete."
"If you say so."
Surprised, Remus turned to him. "...You don't think so?"
"I don't know. Things are just getting harder, aren't they? I mean…we're not winning."
Remus's eyebrows came together. "...Well we haven't lost yet, either. Until the day comes that Voldemort takes over the Ministry-"
"Sh-! Don't-!" Peter hissed, spinning around like the Dark Lord himself could show up any second.
"You're fine, Pete."
"Do you have to say his name?"
"Dumbledore says the Taboo curse is just a rumor."
"But maybe, just in case, since we're out in the open, let's not. You never know if the rumor is going to give He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named ideas one of these days…"
"...Hospitals really do make you more nervous than usual, don't they?"
"No- well, yes, but it's just-...I don't know, I just thought, if our cause is really so much greater than theirs, we'd have beaten them by now…"
The way he was speaking gave Remus a strange feeling, but he tried to remain encouraging. "...We will. We've just got to keep trusting Dumbledore and Moody."
"If you say so."
"I do say so."
All of the sudden, Peter yelped and spun around as someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Shift's up, lads. We'll take it from here."
"Godric damn it, Gideon," breathed Peter, hunching over to brace his hands on his knees.
"Jumpy are we, Pettigrew?" asked Fabian.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I hate hospitals. Hate them."
"Well lucky for you, you're all done. Off you pop," Fabian chuckled.
Remus patted them both on the shoulders. "Thanks, gents."
"Nothing to report?" Gideon inquired.
"Pretty uneventful on our end."
"I can only hope it's the same for us."
"Me too. And if it's not, give 'em hell."
"Cheers."
Marlene entered at the other end of the hall with perfect timing. "Oh good, I was about to come tell you Sturgis relieved me of my watch. You two miss my bonnie face?"
"Oh so terribly," Remus jested.
"Not as much as Molly does," Fabian informed her. "She's instructed us to guilt you until you make plans with her."
"Ach, I know, I know, I'm due for a visit. Between you twos and me, I cannae be around that many wains for extended periods of time. Makes my skin crawl."
Gideon faked incredulity and brought his hand to his chest. "Those are our six very-well-behaved and not-rambunctious-at-all nephews you're talking about."
"And wee Ronald pulls my hair."
Fabian shrugged. "The kid likes blondes."
Marlene rolled her eyes in response, and dragged Remus and Peter towards the stairwell. "We're due at The Barrister's for dinner."
"Tell Angus and your parents we said 'hi,' and that the Chudley Canons are a disgrace this season," were Fabian's parting words to Marlene.
…
By the time the three of them strolled into the pub, Emmeline and Sirius had already taken the liberty of ordering.
"Saints, the both of you," Peter sighed, plopping into his seat and popping two chips in his mouth.
Remus sat down beside Emmeline and gave her hand a squeeze. "Hey, you."
"Everything go alright at St. Mungo's?" she asked, passing him a stout and a plate with a few pies.
"Nothing out of the ordinary on our watch."
"Well if you aren't gonnae kiss her, I will," Marlene chided, leaning over him and planting a fat smooch on Emmeline's cheek before snuggling up under Sirius's arm.
Sirius cocked an eyebrow of extreme idealism towards Emmeline, who suddenly looked ready to thwack him.
"Whatever you're about to say, don't."
"C'mon, you've never wondered?"
Marlene grumbled. "For the love of Rowena, we've just sat down."
"Moony wouldn't mind, right Moony?"
Remus looked up from his pie. "Moony wouldn't mind what?"
"If you so much as imagine it, I will pour my entire pint over your head," Emmeline threatened Sirius.
"Yeah, and I don't share," Marlene reminded him.
"What exactly are we talking about?" Peter questioned.
"Oh- God-" Remus finally caught on and leaned across the table, pointing a finger at him. "You're a pervert-"
"I'm not-!"
"-that's perverted-"
"It isn't! It's French!"
"We are all way too close."
"Could be closer."
"Pad."
"He can't help it, he's a bit inbred," Marlene jabbed.
Sirius laughed, which, admittedly, was nice to hear after the events of the last few months. He'd been really down lately.
Emmeline shrugged. "I'd rather just shag Marlene and leave you out of it."
Remus and Sirius's focus snapped to her as she nibbled innocently on a chip.
"Right, Marley?"
"Right," Marlene played along, grabbing Emmeline's chin. "Should we invite Lil? I mean, she's so pregnant, but-"
"I miss her. When are they coming home-?"
"No no no, hang on, you can't just go and change the subject!" Sirius whined.
Peter shrunk in his seat and looked between Remus and Sirius. "Should I leave?"
Adjusting himself in his seat, Remus blinked at Emmeline. "Is there something you want to tell me-?"
"What the fuck were you lot up to in those dorms?" Sirius cut in.
A sardonic smile crept up the corners of Marlene's mouth as she sipped her ale. "We, in each respective house, all made secret, feminine pacts to never speak of it again; specifically not to you."
"Bitches." Sirius dropped his fish filet and flicked the crumbs from his fingers disappointedly.
Emmeline tapped the corner of her mouth. "Sirius, you've just got a bit of drool-"
"Sod off."
"Once, just once, I want to have a normal dinner conversation," Remus complained, trying to put from his mind the things that his all-too-vivid imagination was trying to conjure.
"Are you kidding me- Remus, your randy girlfriend started it!"
"No Pad, you started it."
"Technically, I started it," Marlene interjected.
Sirius shook his head. "Fine. Whatever. Eat up. There's a surprise for you all upstairs when you're finished."
"If it has anything to do with a ménage à trois, I'm going home, thanks very much." Remus forewarned.
…
He had expected a new card game, or maybe even a bit of pot Sirius bought off Mundungus on occasion. What Remus did not expect to see was the Potters sitting on the couch.
"How about a ménage à sept?" Sirius teased Remus.
Peter barreled into James's arms. "Hey!"
"Surprise," he announced.
Remus was the next to embrace James. "Look who's back!"
"You're not the only one who gets to take fun little trips," he said, clutching him tightly.
"I assure you, my trips aren't fun."
A now very pregnant Lily remained on the couch with her arms wide open, and Marlene and Emmeline scurried to embrace her, nearly tackling her as they squealed with delight.
"Merlin you two, be gentle," James reprimanded then.
"They're fine," his wife hushed him.
"What the fuck were they up to in those dorms?" Sirius asked Remus again. This time, he did receive a thwack on the shoulder.
Marlene looked pointedly up at Sirius. "Lily, we've got a business proposition for you!"
"Tarts," he grumbled.
Emmmeline snuggled up to Lily and rested her hand on her bump. Seeing it always gave Remus a weird feeling in the base of his gut, and he suspected it might worsen when he eventually had to see her holding the baby. "How was the before-baby holiday?" she asked.
"It was nice-"
"-Fine, just fine."
"Just fine?" Remus repeated, turning to James. "You spent a month in Blackpool, and it was just fine?"
Sirius clapped James on the back. "Leave him alone, Moony. He's a ball of nerves."
"Baby's coming soon, then?" Peter asked, making himself comfortable in the armchair.
"Seven more weeks or so if all goes according to plan," Lily reported, laying her hand on top of Emmeline's.
"That's so…completely terrifying," Remus muttered.
"Because James Potter will be in charge of a child, or because James Potter's spawn will be loose on the earth?"
"Bugger off, Marley," he grumbled.
"Mrs. Potter's not going to let that baby get away with half the mischief we get ourselves into," said Sirius, winking at Lily.
"You're wrong," Emmeline countered. "Lily's just gonna teach 'em not to get caught."
Remus noticed James's grimace. "We're only having a laugh, Prongs."
"I know Moony, I know…"
"I still can't believe Dumbledore let you off patrols to take a holiday," he marveled, sitting beside Emmeline on the couch.
"...He actually took the patrols off my plate," James reported.
"...Did he?" Remus said, looking puzzled.
Sirius and James shared a sideways glance.
"...He just wants us to be careful, with Lil being so far along. He was very sympathetic about it."
"...That was thoughtful of him."
"Shall I fish out the poker set?" Sirius asked, changing the subject.
"Actually Pad, I'm pretty knackered, and Lil should get some rest, too. We just dropped by to say hello. You guys go ahead without us."
"...Yeah, alright. I understand."
Remus was surprised that Sirius didn't offer any push-back.
"So soon?" Emmeline whined.
"We won't be any fun anyway," Lily laughed as she hobbled to her feet so very pregnantly.
James took his wife by the hand and led her to the hearth. "We'll see you all soon," he promised.
…
The Potters floo'ed home, all traces of their smiles now gone.
"Homenum Revelio."
Nothing.
Lily stashed her wand away.
"Enchantments still up?" asked James.
"Yes..."
He couldn't take his eyes off her swollen stomach.
"It feels so wrong not to tell them," she sighed.
"We can't risk it. We weren't even supposed to tell Sirius."
They'd spent the better part of the last month in a safe house; not on holiday in Blackpool like their friends thought.
Lily took James's face in her hands. "You need to rest. You've hardly slept."
"I can't shut my mind off," he muttered, his gaze still on her belly.
"James. Look at me."
He tore his eyes away to meet hers.
"Nothing's going to touch him."