A/N
Another update in quick succession! Check back to the previous chapter if you missed it as I've heard that people aren't getting notifications of story updates.
Enjoy :)
The man had a scheduled meeting with Dumbledore that evening; originally planned to be in the headmaster's office but with the events of the day, Remus had suggested that their quarters would be more appropriate. He could keep a much closer eye on Harry who was sound asleep in his room, evident by his even breathing.
The evening addition of the Daily Prophet had come in around twenty minutes ago, the headline on the front page made Lupin's hairs stand on edge.
Sirius Black had been spotted in Hogsmeade just before sunset; it was clear that the prisoner was edging closer to the school, and more importantly, Harry,
The discarded newspaper lay on top of the folded invisibility cloak and map that Nipa had retrieved from the passageway, an hour or so before.
Remus had decided to keep both the cloak and the map in his office which, from now, on was going to be out of bounds for his young teenager; something he intended to tell Harry in the morning, but for now he would let the child get some much-needed sleep.
The man had taken a seat at the dining table that was placed in the middle of the small kitchen, a glass of firewhisky in hand in an attempt to take the edge off from his anxieties.
Lupin wasn't a big alcoholic drinker; he much preferred the warm side to drinks but today he saw an undeniable excuse to devour some of firewhisky that had been in his possession, longer than he cared to admit.
Picking up the map and softly mumbling the words to open it, Remus took a quick glance around; his eye first catching on their quarters and the little dot labelled 'Harry Potter' that he knew was fast asleep in his bed.
His eyes then scanned around, noting Dumbledore pacing in his office; their meeting wasn't to start for another few minutes, the floo only took a matter of seconds.
The man turned his attention to the Gryffindor common room, with the clock ticking just past midnight, he was not surprised to see the common room still with a few stragglers left; Hermione was sat somewhere near the centre with Ginny Weasley, the Twins seemed to join them.
Remus noted that he couldn't see Harry's redhead best friend Ron in the common room or the dorm and felt a small tinge of worry when he realised it was likely the teen had snuck out. Usually harmless fun, until the man remembered the threat of Sirius Black and began to see if he could see the child.
It didn't take long before the man noticed the tiny dot labelled 'Ron' moving quickly down near Hagrids Hut, chasing after a second dot that the man could only catch the first letter of 'P' before it disappeared off the edge of the map. It seemed Ron had stood there for a moment before making his way to Hagrids who moved from his bedroom to living quarters.
A wise idea Remus thought to himself. Clearly the red head had some consideration for the potential danger he was in as he thought to inform an adult that he was out of bounds; despite the lack of help Hagrids could be at times. The man wished Harry would take a leaf out of Ron's book.
Watching the pairs dots as they head back to the castle, Remus closed the map with the words 'Mischief Managed' and placed it, as well as the cloak, in a small cupboard, situated just behind the office door.
Locking it with a simple locking charm, the man heard the floo roar to life as he walked out from the office and muttered a silencing charm on his teenager's door.
The boy was asleep but Remus didn't want to take any chances or tempt the him.
"Good evening Albus,"
"Remus," Dumbledore nodded politely as he looked around the small quarters, standing almost awkwardly just in front of the fireplace.
"Take a seat, can I get you a drink or something to eat?" Remus asked.
"Some ginger nut biscuits would do perfectly." The Headmaster replied as he took a seat on the sofa. "Is Harry -"
"In bed; he's had a few hours extra sleep tonight, it was well needed." Remus answered while balancing the two plates of biscuits, one of ginger and the other chocolate, over to the living room.
"Ah - of course." Dumbledore replied. "I suppose after his little trip today he found himself most tired."
"Yes, you could say that." Remus replied in a tired tone. "Hopefully this will be the last of his little outings for now."
"I trust you were not too hard on him?"
"I believe not; besides I have already heard from Minerva, asking me to send the child to her before lessons on Monday. I'm sure Harry will look forward to that."
The man paused to take a seat in his armchair, Dumbledore had sat to his right on the sofa; his sky-blue robes draping from either side.
"One thing I struggle to recover from is the fact that Black was spotted there this evening, after everything we, as a school, have done to protect the grounds. For all we know he could have been there the same time as Harry was."
"Well, we can all be thankful that he did not at least infiltrate the wards; I would have been alerted if he had done so. The school is still the safest place for Harry to be. I do not doubt it."
"I do wonder that sometimes, if I am to be honest," Remus admitted. "I just wish the child would understand the danger he's in and follow the blasted rules." His tone was firm but not angry; far from it.
"He is James's son, my boy. There is no doubt about that." Dumbledore chuckled lightly, always one to see the humour in situations. "Have you managed to help Harry with the Patronus charm?"
"He's been close, many times now, but still not quite a full patronus. It has thankfully been a while now since he last felt the effects of the Dementors. Hopefully, it stays that way even though I fear it won't with the quidditch match coming up."
"It would certainly be most hopeful if Harry could master the spell before then. Even though the dementors do seem more in control than at the start of the term."
"I will see to it that we timetable some more lessons before the match next week. I am confident he will master it soon."
This time it was Dumbledore's turn to nod.
"Regardless, I asked for this meeting today to discuss a few things; mostly surrounding Sirius Black," Remus announced, ignoring the small drop in his stomach at the mention of the man's name. "I think it is important for yourself and potentially the ministry to know that, in our sixth year, James, Peter and Sirius all successfully managed to turn into an animagus. Sirius's form was a large black dog."
"I know of that information already, my boy," Dumbledore answered, the twinkle glistening in his eye.
"You do?" Remus replied, unable to withhold the shock that entered his tone.
"There is very little that goes on in this school that I am unaware of Remus. I have known since the man broke out of prison, however, I am unsure whether this is information that should be passed onto the ministry or not."
"What is your reasoning?"
"Sirius would have been an unregistered animagus, illegal in both the ministry and especially Azkaban. I fear that if the ministry were to find out about this information, they would sentence Sirius to the dementor kiss immediately. Mostly due to the fear that they would have nowhere to imprison him. Something I am sure neither of us would want at all." Dumbledore shifted his position on the sofa ever so slightly.
"The dementors, Remus, are merely here for show; to make it seem like the ministry is doing something to help. It is Sirius's animagus form that enabled him to escape from Azkaban the first time; dementors cannot detect animals. It is the wards and charms that are protecting the school, hence why I have fought the dementor placement many times."
Remus eyed the headmaster carefully. The man had a way of sounding as if he made complete sense but absolutely no sense at the same time. Choosing not to comment about his feelings surrounding the dementor's kiss, he changed the focus ever so slightly.
"Then it is absolutely imperative that the secret passageways out of the school are blocked off immediately. If the dementors are not able to detect the man then we certainly need added precautions."
Remus wanted to curse Dumbledore on the spot for not doing so sooner; did the man have a death wish on his child?
"Certainly. The passageways are currently protected by the wards and charms outside the castle but there is no harm in adding the same protections to the entrances and exits. I will ensure you however still have access to the Shrieking Shack for full moons."
Remus thanked the man before standing and picking up the small plate that was now absent of the three ginger nuts that once occupied it. With a flick of his wand, the plate flew into the sink and washed themselves up. The man returned to his seat.
"One final thing, the minister has asked for the meeting we briefly discussed the other day, to take place in my office tomorrow; I hope the timing is agreeable with you and Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes – I cannot see why not," Remus replied, sitting back in his armchair. While Harry was grounded, leaving the teacher's wing to go to a meeting would hardly be exciting for the young teenager. Remus only hoped his son kept his temper, considering the past few days that they had had.
"Then I shall see you both briefly tomorrow." Dumbledore smiled warmly as he stood from his position. "Tell Harry I was here won't you." The man winked.
"Of course." The man held his arm out to the fireplace.
The headmaster stepped in the floo and took a handful of the green powder, "Farewell Remus."
"Goodnight Albus."
Remus raised his hand and knocked lightly on his teen's door. The man was more than surprised that Harry had not attempted to protest his sentence more that morning; it was a pleasant surprise but a shock nevertheless.
Harry called for Lupin to come in as he turned the doorknob, pushing it open. Remus withheld the smile that wanted to fill his face as he realised the teen was sitting at his desk, completing his homework; perhaps the child really was sorry for the events of yesterday.
Forcing his features to turn neutral, despite wanting everything to turn back to normal; Remus held up the newspaper in his hand and placed it down on the desk next to Harry.
Harry looked up at the man he felt his stomach drop slightly as the newspaper slapped down next to him. Scanning the front headline quickly, the teen instantly felt worse.
"Oh."
"Oh indeed," Remus replied, leaning on the desk next to the child, crossing his arms over his middle. "Now can you understand why I was so upset with your actions yesterday, hmm?"
"Yeah," Harry replied looking slightly forlorn. His eyes scanned to the newspaper again as the moving photograph of Sirius Black, under the headline 'SPOTTED AT HOGSMEADE' continuously flashed in front of his eyes. "I promise I won't do anything like that again.'
"I know. However, I mean what I said yesterday, it is absolutely imperative that you keep yourself safe and follow the rules set out for you."
"Yeah, I promise I will."
Remus replied calmly, allowing the slight firmness that had entered his tone to evaporate completely. "Then starting from now, yesterday is all water under the bridge."
Harry looked up at the man confused. "Water under the bridge?"
"It's a saying." Remus chuckled at the teen. "It means forgotten about; we will move on from it."
"Oh," Harry smiled slightly back as he picked up his quill, dipping it in the ink pot in front of his right hand.
"What are you working on?"
"Herbology - got an essay to hand in next week."
"What about that transfiguration essay you had? Did you get that finished?" Remus asked, folding his arms from his middle in the process.
'Not yet; I was gonna do that after lunch."
"Just a thought, but handing it in early to Professor McGonagall might help plead your case tomorrow?" Remus raised a humorous eyebrow.
Harry sighed and tilted his head back. "I can't believe you won't get me out of that."
"It was your doing, Harry; your head of the house has every right to talk to you about breaking school rules. You left the grounds before it was even a Hogsmeade weekend. However, I would rather not keep going around in circles about all this."
Remus stood. "Do you need a drink or anything? I could grab you a snack?"
Harry rested his head in his left hand as he pulled his best puppy-eyed face. "I could come and get a glass of water?"
"I'm sure you could walk to the kitchen and get a drink, however, you are not allowed. I really did mean it when I said restriction, Harry."
Harry sunk further down into his chair.
"Should I take that as a no, for the drink and snack?" Remus replied, unable to keep a smirk off of his face at his teenagers' sulking antics.
"Could I have pumpkin juice and some chocolate biscuits?" Came a mumbled reply.
"I'll be right back."
Harry listened to the man's footsteps walk out of the door before he sighed again and placed his head into both of his hands; elbows resting on the desk.
Remus was really serious about this restriction. Harry thought to himself.
The footsteps returned down the hall as the man re-entered the child's room, shaking his head at the boy's new position.
He placed the glass of juice down on the desk, as he followed with the plate of three chocolate biscuits.
"Thanks, Harry replied quietly, lifting his head up from his hands, and moving the plate towards him.
"Nipa retrieved your cloak and the map from the passageway last night, from now on they will stay in my office. You will need my permission to use that cloak of your Harry."
"But my cloak was the only thing I had left from my dad." Harry spoke with a trace of a whine, "you can't take it away!"
"I am not taking it; rather removing it from your bedroom to the office, where I can keep an eye on it. Come to me with a plausible reason to use it and I will give it to you. Otherwise, my office is out of bounds."
Harry scowled at the man.
"As for not having anything from James - it would appear that I have a solution for that." Remus smiled at the boy's change of facial expression as he reached into his pockets, pulling out what seemed to be a sharp fragment of metal.
"These -" the man passed one of the pair to Harry, "are two-way mirrors. If you ever need to ask me something or need my help, just speak into the mirror and I will be able to answer you. A much easier way of contact, should you need it."
"Cool!" Harry replied as he shifted it around in his hands, "my dad used these?"
"Yes, many times while we were at school. Mainly to contact his - friends," Remus paused slightly; the word feeling foreign on his tongue, "during detentions when they were in different classrooms."
Harry smiled warmly, seemingly fascinated to hold something other than his cloak that belonged to his father. "Do you have anything from my Mum?"
"I am not entirely sure. I had boxes of items placed in storage here at Hogwarts, I will have to ask Professor Dumbledore what happened to it all. Then perhaps we could look through them together." Remus had been meaning to sort them for years but he had never been able to pluck up the time or energy to do so.
"Sure." Harry replied, taking another bite out of his biscuit.
"One last thing," Lupin leant on the doorframe. "I had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore last night and he -"
"Dumbledore was here?" Harry interrupted.
"Yes, Professor Dumbledore was here, long after you were asleep; now let me finish please."
Harry muttered a soft "sorry."
"He informed me that all secret passageways out of the castle will be blocked up for the foreseeable future,"
Harry groaned.
"And -" Remus raised a numerous eyebrow at the child's noise, "the Minister for Magic would like to meet with yourself and I for that meeting we discussed, later today."
"Today? Really…" Harry whined slightly.
"Believe me, I am just as enthralled by the idea. It is just to see how you are getting on."
"But I'm fine. You know that."
"I know, however the Ministry does not. As much as I would rather not go to the meeting; the Ministry are well within their rights to request a meeting of an adopted child." Lupin stood up straight.
Harry had been formally adopted by Remus on his eighth birthday; Remus had waited until Harry had the ability to grasp the concept and make a decision on his own. Of course, Harry had instantly agreed and the formal process began which consisted of countless meetings with adults from the ministry, which Harry had no idea who these people were, and since then, Harry had despised meetings of that nature. They were far too boring and in Harry's opinion, pointless.
"I guess," Harry spoke softly with a sigh. He picked up his pumpkin juice, taking a few gulps, before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"I will leave you to your school work and I'll bring up your lunch when it is ready." Remus tapped the frame. Not missing the slight fall in his child's expression.
"I can't come down for lunch?"
"Harry; you know the answer to that. It's hardly different to eating lunch at your desk."
"Is so," Harry replied, turning his head away from the man.
"We shall agree to disagree." Remus replied. "If you behave well during the meeting, I will think about ending your prison sentence before dinner time."
"Okay." Harry mumbled.
Remus nodded, despite knowing the child could not see, whilst closing the bedroom door slowly.
The man walked down the short hallway and into the kitchen, taking a sigh of relief that his teen had, somewhat, reacted okay to the news of the meeting and his grounding.
He only hoped, Harry's mediocre attitude kept up during their meeting with Cornelius Fudge.
Harry glanced at his guardian. The man's features were a mix between concentration and sternness. For the first time in a few days however, such a negative facial expression was not aimed at himself.
Fudge was a short, plump sort of man whose brows were a constant state of furrowed. Something Harry quite disliked.
Dumbledore had excused himself promptly as himself and Remus entered around three-quarters of an hour ago. Harry had rather hoped the headmaster would have stayed.
The awkwardness of greetings quickly turned the conversation to Harry's trip to Hogsmeade yesterday. How the ministry had found out about such an event neither Remus or Harry was sure.
Fudge had emphasised multiple times that if Remus continued to be an unfit parent for 'the chosen one' then the ministry would begin seeking other arrangements and void the adoption,
Remus would have quite liked to have told the man where to stuff his assumptions but knew he had to keep his cool for the sake of the teenager seated to his right. There was not a single doubt in the man's mind that he had inherited James' quick, and Lily's fiery, temper.
"I would have thought after Mr Potter's actions yesterday, he would have been on some kind of restriction?" The minister snarled questioningly.
"Harry is on restriction until this evening and has received consequences for his actions, however I was not aware that the ministry required knowledge of this?" Remus shot back, attempting to ignore the flushed expression that filled his teenagers face.
"Well, if Mr Potter continues to place his life under inherent danger, the Ministry will have no choice but to take him in as a ward of our own."
"That will not be -"
"I wouldn't go with the Ministry anyway." Harry interrupted Lupin before the man had a chance to finish.
Remus tapped the child's leg warningly.
"It will not be necessary for the ministry to take Harry in as he will not be placing himself at any risk from here on out. Yesterday was not a representation of Harry as a whole."
"Mr Potter, both this year and last, has shown that he will place his and his friends' lives in danger for the thrill of an adventure. The Philosopher's stone incident, the flying car, going down to the Chamber of Secrets; all events in the past two years that the child has caused havoc in the school."
"I'm not a child." Harry snapped back at the man. He hated that they were talking about him as though he wasn't there, "And my name is Harry, not Mr Potter."
"Harry." The first warning.
Harry felt the heat rise to his cheeks.
"And this right here is the very example of why the ministry will be starting the process of talking Mr Potter into our care."
"Minster," Remus took a deep breath to control his frustrations, both with Fudge and Harry, "Harry is very happy in my care. He received consequences for all of the incidents you have detailed, as any child would have. I have been able to provide him with stability, care and kept him in good health and spirits which is all that can be asked for."
Fudge frowned deeper, thinking over the man's words. "I will arrange for another meeting to be held in a few months. Failure to see improvements and the process of transferring Harry's care will begin."
"I already told you; I won't go." Harry folded his arms over his middle. Why should he be forced to leave his guardian of over twelve years? Why did the ministry suddenly care now?
Lupin glared harshly at the boy. "Thank you for your time, Minister. Come on Harry -" the man stood and tapped the child's shoulder with purpose. "Let's go."
Harry stood up, not even giving the Minister a second glance, before following his guardian out of the office.
The pair walked through the empty corridors in silence, heading back to their quarters.
It was not until they passed through the living room door that the man turned around and spoke with the stern expression that filled his face in the office, still present. "What was that?"
Harry sat himself down on the sofa, kicking off his shoes. "What was what?"
"The attitude and disrespect I just witnessed in there? Did I not ask you to be respectful at all times right before we went into that meeting?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "They are trying to take me away from you."
"And you think your responses to Mr Fudge's questions helped the matter?" Remus asked with an exasperated tone, taking a seat opposite Harry in his armchair.
Harry shrugged his shoulders again, picking at the skin around his thumb.
Remus sighed. "I will promise you one thing, and one thing only, I will do everything in my power to keep you under my care. But you are going to have to pull your weight too. I know you are not fond of him and, in all honesty, nor am I; but the point remains that they have the power to remove you from me and am I correct in believing that that is something neither of us want?"
"No…" Harry replied quietly.
"Do I have your word that next time there is a meeting you will be on your best behaviour and answer any questions asked of you with respect?"
"Yeah, I guess." The teen shifted his position so that his legs hung off the edge of the sofa. "Is it because of your condition?"
"I do not believe that it helps the matter, no" Remus replied honestly.
"That's bloody stupid then."
"Language," Remus chastised lightly. "However, I agree, yes, it is a silly reason."
Harry leant his left elbow on the arm of the sofa, placing his head in his palm.
"I believe your room is calling your name Harry. Can you hear it?"
The teen rolled his eyes at the man. "Can't I just stay out here? I mean I'm already sitting here now."
"No, you can't. Go on, there's only a couple of hours until dinner; I have decided that we can have it together before you go back to your dorm tonight."
The teen sighed. "Alright," he answered after a short pause, knowing it would not be wise to argue with the man, seeing as he was going to be allowed out later.
Lupin picked up Harry's dirty plate as the pair finished their dinner together. Washing the plates up quickly, Harry moved towards the sofa, where he sprawled his legs out in front of him, head resting on the arm.
Remus followed, flicking his wand to cause the fire to light; keeping the small living room warm and toasty; every so often there would be a crackle as the wood burnt.
Lupin took a seat in his usual armchair, opposite from the child.
"Remus?"
"Mmm?" The man hummed in reply.
"Do you think you could show me some of those photos you talked about? You know the ones with Sirius and Peter in, as well as you and my dad?"
"I could do that."
"Should I go and get them?"
"They are in my office so I will find them, give me a moment." Remus replied, slapping his knees lightly.
Standing up and walking to the office, the man unlocked the cabinet pulling out one of three photo albums that were currently in his possession. He was sure there was more somewhere but he knew it would take quite a while to find them in the vast rooms of Hogwarts.
Walking out, shutting the office door behind him, he sat down again, this time on the sofa next to Harry.
Blowing some of the dust off from the album, the man passed it to the child, in gold writing on the front it read '1978'. Harry gently opened the album that seemed full to the brim of polaroids; some faded more than others.
The first photo was clearly a summer's day, there was a group of people sitting on a hill, underneath a large oak tree; some were squinting depending on their position in the sun, waving to the camera.
Remus glanced down at the photo; a warm smile filled his lips. For the first time in many years the man allowed himself to look at the photos fondly, without feeling to upset at the loss of his friends.
Harry allowed his guardian to gently take the photo from his grip, as the man held the polaroid in his right, his left hand served as a finger to point.
"There's myself, your mum and dad, then Sirius, Peter and Lily's friend Marlene. It was our last evening at Hogwarts in our seventh year; right before we left for good."
Harry glanced up at the man, expecting a look of sadness but was surprised to notice the man smiling. It was a small smile, but a smile nevertheless.
"We spent the rest of the afternoon in the Three Broomsticks, drinking ourselves silly as we were then of age. James definitely had one too many that evening."
Remus chuckled out loud.
"What did he do?" Harry asked, smirking back, despite not quite knowing why.
"He challenged us to do a lap around Hogsmeade with a shot of fire whiskey still in our mouths. If we finished back at the Three broomsticks, we won. James somehow, and I'm still not quite sure how, ended up in the lake and lost his wand." Remus laughed. "None of us would dry his clothes for him so he ended up being soaked through for the rest of the evening."
Harry smirked at the story, feeling a warm, fuzzy sensation in his tummy at hearing the story. Remus looked, for the first time in a while, happy.
"Mind you, don't be getting any ideas. You aren't nearly of age yet." Remus warned extremely lightly.
"A shot of fire whisky wouldn't hurt."
Remus raised his right brow.
"I'm joking, I'm joking" Harry muttered, picking out the next photo that took his interest.
The fire continued to crackle as the flames died down. The pair looked through almost every photo in the album as Remus recalled his parents' adventures. Their trip to the seaside; their groups first holiday together, some photos of just Lily and James house hunting, and even some of Sirius standing next to a motorbike which caused Lupin to suggest they moved quickly on.
Remus was not sure why he was still not quite able to talk openly about Sirius and their friendship with the child; he hoped, in time, it would come but for now, he was most content with explaining the bare minimum of the man and moving onto a much happier photograph that held a story to tell.
Harry neared the back of the album as a moving photograph in a white dress caught his attention. The woman, of auburn hair, twizzled round as a man, with circular-shaped glasses in a black suit, held his arm up.
Harry knew it was his parents.
"Their wedding day." Harry pulled the picture out, smiling as he did.
Remus nodded, unsure of what to say. He wasn't sure why he hadn't shown Harry the photos before now.
He watched as Harry was seemingly mesmerised by the photo, Lily turning under James's arm, over and over again as his teen assessed every detail. A pang of guilt filled his chest as he cursed himself for not sharing these photos with Harry sooner.
"She looks really pretty." Harry mumbled, as though he had spoken his subconscious thought aloud.
"She certainly did." Remus replied as he took out a second moving photo, handing it to the boy.
This time it was a group, moving, photo. Harry recognised Remus instantly, standing at the back with a walking stick which was attempting to be hidden by the shorter man in front of him. Harry knew him to be Peter.
"The wedding happened to fall right after a particular bad full moon." Remus explained. "Your parents tried to move the wedding after they found out about the lunar charts but the venue would not allow it. Many photos you'll see at the back here are of me attempting to hide the stick."
Harry glanced up at the man sympathetically. He was always trying to do what was best for others; Harry wondered if he ever did anything for himself.
"I don't think it would have mattered even if you could have seen your walking stick." Harry replied honestly.
"Your parents did not mind either." Remus mused, seeing the stark similarities in the boy sat beside him, "I suppose it was more of a personal preference."
Lupin took the photo from the child's grip, placing it back in the film folder. Taking out the last photo from the pile, the man handed it to Harry.
Five people stood in the photo, Harry went along the line, quickly realising it was a photo of the bride and groom with their bridesmaids and best man. His parents in the middle, his hated Aunt Petunia to Lily's right, and Marlene who Harry recognised from the earlier photograph. Then there was James on the left followed by…
"Was he -?" Harry let the question die on his tongue.
Remus knew what the child was asking. With a tone of sadness, the man answered, "Yes, Sirius was James' best man."
Shortly after the realisation, Remus had packed up the first album and informed the child that they could look at the rest of the albums later on in the week. Harry did little to protest as he let out a large, uncontrollable yawn.
"Are you going back to the tower tonight?" Remus asked although he highly suspected the child would be going back after being cooped up in their quarters for the entire weekend.
Harry yawned again, unintentionally. He didn't particularly feel like going anywhere at that moment. "Could I stay down here?"
"Of course you can; you are welcome any time cub." Lupin answered with a warm feeling in his stomach. After all the stress and unpleasantness of the weekend, the man felt more than happy that his teenager wanted to spend longer in his company.
Harry stood up from the sofa and stretched his arms up in the air.
"Someone's tired today?" Remus commented from his place in the armchair.
"I might actually get an early night; I am kinda tired," Harry replied honestly.
"Go and get yourself ready for bed then; I'll come in to say good night in a moment."
Harry headed down the hall, pushing open the bathroom door, cleaning his teeth. Then moved across the hall to his bedroom where he slipped on his tartan pyjamas that had been discarded on the floor that morning before climbing into bed, pulling the covers over him.
Remus followed a mere two minutes later.
"No chocolate biscuits tonight?" The man asked questioningly.
"Oh -" Harry started, "I forgot about them, I've just cleaned my teeth."
"No matter, you can have some tomorrow." Smiling softly, Remus tucked the sheets around Harry before ruffling the teens hair affectionately.
"Goodnight Cub."
"Night."
Lupin blew out the candles with a few flicks of his wand, before quietly pulling the door to.
A few hours of quietness, the man thought to himself.
"REMUS!" Harry yelled, tossing and turning in his bed. "No! You can't take me away."
The Minister, Cornelius Fudge was pulling Harry away from Lupin down a corridor. It was getting narrower and narrower as Harry began yelling at the top of his lungs. "YOU CAN'T"
"STOP! Please!"
"Harry wake up!" The child felt his shoulders shake. "You are only dreaming, wake up cub!"
"I don't want to go!" Harry spoke, his time much quieter as the vision was falling ever fainter.
"Harry, come on. It's only a dream."
Harry's eyes snapped open, looking directly into the man's deep hazel eyes. He was drenched in sweat, his covers tangled round his feet.
"You were having a nightmare cub." Remus replied kindly.
Harry felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. As he shifted down his bed, laying with his back to the man. His cheeks still wet with tears.
"It's okay, you are safe here Harry." The man began rubbing the child's back up and down in a soothing motion. "Do you want to tell me what it was about? It might help some?"
Harry initially shook his head but paused, flipping himself over to lay on the other side to face the man.
"That Minister - he was trying to take me away from you. To live in the ministry." Harry sniffed, "I told him already, I won't go. I don't want to go!"
Harry was getting himself worked up again and Remus seemed to notice, "hey - hey. What did I tell you earlier? I will not let that happen Harry. You know that."
Lupin's eyes were kind but his face displayed a hint of worry.
"Do you need to change your pyjamas quickly? I can get this set washed by the morning for you."
Harry felt himself flush once again but nodded all the same.
"What time is it?" He muttered softly, as he pulled off his pyjama top, placing it in the dirty linen pile.
"It's just gone half past two in the morning." Remus noted on the small clock, sat next to Harry's bedside table.
"How come you weren't in bed?"
"I was just about to, I had been working on some lesson plans."
"Oh - I'm sorry." Harry replied, picking out a new pair of pyjamas.
"Why are you apologising?" Remus asked, untangling the teens sheets for him, so he would be able to get back in, in a moment's time.
"For stopping you from going to bed." The teen replied honestly, changing his pyjama bottoms while he watched the man sort out his bed.
"You know better than to apologies for such a thing. As I've told you before, we cannot control what we dream about." Remus held his arm out and pulled the body into a tight hug
He knew teenagers were not the hugging, lovey type but in that moment, he did not particularly care.
Harry wrapped his arms around the man too; allowing himself to be embraced. He was the first to pull away, as he slipped into his bed that the man had just made for him again.
"In the morning, you'll need a shower okay." Remus took a seat next to the child.
"Uh huh." Harry replied as he nestled his face into the pillow, allowing Remus to rub his back affectionately.
"I think it is time you got some sleep. You have classes and a meeting in the morning." Remus paused, glancing at the clock, "Do you need a dreamless sleep potion?"
"I think I'll be okay." Harry replied honestly, nestling further into his bed. Glancing up at the man with a small smile.
"Okay, I will leave my bedroom door open should you need me in the night." Remus stood from the bed.
"Good night cub," Lupin began to walk out of the room.
"Night," Harry called back. "Love you,"
"I love you too," Remus replied as he lightly closed his child's door with a sigh of relief.