Book I: Birth of the Order

Chapter XIV: Family Burdens

Music Theme: Everything I Own - Bread

Ministry of Magic - Spring 1970...

"Knock knock?" Called a young man as he tapped the open office door in the Department for creatures. "I'm looking for Lyall Lupin?" He declared as he refrenced the paper in his hand with the man's name written out.

The man in question, about 12 years his senior, was pulling papers and supplies out of one of the small desks in the abandoned office. "That's me, but if you're needing assitance I recommend you speak with my replacement on Monday."

"Replacement?" the man in the door stepped forward, double checking the note again, "Well the young woman at the desk, a Ms. Bones. I caught her before she left for the day. She assured me you could help me with my little... problem."

Lyall looked up from his things and exhaled. He looked in the eyes of the man across from him, a look within them he recognized. It was a tired, desperate gaze.

The young man took advantage of the silence and extended his hand, "I'm Charlie Delaney. You don't know me but perhaps you knew my father, Charles. He would have been much older than you but you might have intersected with him at Hogwarts."

"I intersected with a few notable Wizards during my years there. I found it best to avoid some of the upperclassmen. But I do know the Delaney name. Interesting lineage your family," He walked around his desk and shook the hand of the younger man. "Good to meet a fellow Gryffindor. At least I assume?"

"Oh you assume right." He smiled.

"Please-" Lyall motioned to a couple empty chairs. As they sat he started, "So what's your problem."

"I live on my family estate in Northern Ireland. We've owned this land for some time. As you have heard I'm sure, my family has had a complicated past with dark druid magic and it appears the punishment for it has now taken on a physical form... banshees."

"Now I remember where I saw your name recently." Lyall slid back in his chair. "You applied for a permit to hunt banshees with my department."

"That's right. It has not been approved yet. I'd be lying not to admit myself and some other wizard families have didn't take matters into there own hands-"

"You're lucky today is my last day so I can pretend I didn't hear that. Banshee hunting without the proper training and skills is not only dangerous, every soul a banshee steals makes them stronger. Their screams fortell death and if they grow strong enough to break past your property it could affect the muggles near you as well."

"I know this," he sighed, "But something must be done. The families who were helping me have since pulled away. I'm on my own now. These monsters must be stopped."

"I'm sorry. But without the training your a deadman. It was foolish of you to try to handle this yourself. You should wait for the permit to be approved so that the department can send proffessionals out there and-"

"It's personal now..." Charlie whispered and looked up, "Do you have any children, Mr. Lupin?"

"A son..." he took a beat, "He's barely 10. His name is Remus"

"And if something happended to your boy, would you move heaven and earth to take care of him?"

Lyall looked around the office and muttered, "of course."

"Today... I have a daughter. She's 10 like your boy. And she's an only child... now. Earlier this week though, she wasn't." Lyall sat back down and listened as Charles continued. "My 8-year-old son followed us into the moores. I didn't know. I thought he was safe in his bed." He choked on his words a bit, the events of the week still fresh in his mind. "He couldn't see it was so dark. He thought the Banshee's glow was the moon-light-" he stopped to prevent tears and he felt a gentle hand rest on his.

"I'm so sorry, Charles. I think I see why Ms. Bones sent you to me. I know what's it's like to feel like you've failed your child, but I promise you this wasn't your fault."

"I can't loose anyone else, Mr. Lupin. Please. I'm a young father. There is a lot I don't now. But I know I have a duty to my family. I know it's reckless to take on these banshees myself. But I have to do something. I'm counting down the days until I can send my girl to school so we don't have to keep her confined to our home for safety. My wife has lost her only son. I can't just watch my family suffer while I sit there doing nothing."

"I understand. The reason I'm retiring early is because my family needs me more than the ministry does right now." He looked at the stack of permits on a nearby desk. He thought of his son, Remus, at home who was awaiting the events of the evening. "But I suppose I can file one more permit before I clock-out for good."

"You'll um... you'll do that for me?"

Lyall nodded, "For you... and for your boy. So he can Rest In Peace."

November 4, 1979 - Hogwarts...

The Room of Requirement was full with more recruits for The Order - courtesy of the Prewitt Brothers. Some were familiar faces such as Angus McKinnon, Mary McDonald, Dedalus Diggle and Emmeline Vance while some were new to the others, friends of Dumbledores and 'good eggs' in the Ministry as Aurthur Weasley called them. One faction of The Order however, was still recovering from the night before. Angus and Marlene stared at Sirius and Peter who were sitting on the floor against the wall asleep instead of dueling. James had managed to stay awake as he had exercized more restraint at the Pub last night, but still had a minor headache which affected his dueling with Frank Longbottom. "What's with them?" Frank asked regarding the sleeping beauties against the wall.

"Hangover," Remus said as he watched the two duel.

"Rem," James grumbled at him as he caught his breath from dueling.

"Don't be embarrassed potter," Frank chuckled. "In case you forgot, I'm not one to brag about holding my liquor. I think the end of year party when we graduated I led the entire group in the Hogwarts March." He grinned. "I assume you all celebrated Sirius' birthday?"

"Aye, we did." James said. "Expelliarmus."

"Flippendo," Franks said quickly but his wand flew across the room into James' hand. "Nice one, Potter."

"Thanks, mate." James made his way across the room to him and handed the wand back to him feeling a bit guilty at Longbottom's genuine kindness. "Mate... I want to apologize for how I acted last week. I guess old habits die hard and I felt like you were showing me up... I just got jealous is all."

"Apology accepted, Potter." The two shook hands and looked across the room to their better halves who were talking to one another.

Alice was cornered by Marlene and Lily. Lily spoke up and said, "Admit it, Alice. You're pregnant."

"It's not for certain yet," She blushed.

"Tabitha dreamt it three times," Marlene said. "So it has to be true."

"Ok well," Alice scoffed, "Tabitha also dreamt in school that there was a stag in the great hall wearing James' glasses and that never happened.

"Right..." Lily said but tried to remain on subject. "You said you were late this month though and missed last month."

Alice finally allowed her smile to push through. "Ok... Ok... We just aren't telling everyone. But yes. Frank and I are certain."

"Oh Alice!" Marlene clapped silently with glee. "What's it going to be?!"

"It's too early to know the gender, Marley."

"You know that isn't what I meant."

Alice gave a knowing smirk and leaned forward. "Hufflepuff for sure. I'm outnumbered by you Gryffindor's as it is," she teased.

Just then Dumbledore appeared from behind and tapped Lily on the shoulder. "Lily. I'm wondering if I might have a word." He looked to Alice. "You will allow me to steal away your dueling partner, Alice?"

"Of course Professor."

The two of them moved towards the side of the room and Mary McDonald quickly filled the space left by Lily. "Hey friends."

"Hey Mary." Marlene smiled.

"Any idea what is up with Remus? He's been avoiding me."

"Probably because you're shamelessly flirting, Mary." Alice teased.

"Well I've been out of the dating game all year and I've decided a war is no excuse. I've got to do something to keep my charm muscles going." Mary had a full head of curly hair, large brown eyes that sparkled and a great sense of style. During her school years, she was the social Butterfly of Hufflepuff House and together, her and Alice knew everything about everyone at Hogwarts with their connections.

"You'd have better luck with, Black if he was awake." Marlene said. "Bloke can't ever keep it in his pants."

"Is this about the end of year party?"

"Wait what happened?" Alice asked looking between the two.

"Oh right! You didn't see? Well Marlene had come with Sirius and right after you and Frank announced your engagement, Sirius came in and-"

"I'm bored." Marlene said quickly and walked away from the conversation to end it. She planted herself next to Remus who watched Tabitha duel with Angus. "Pretty equally matched huh?" Marlene said to Remus in reference to how Angus was able to deflect Tabitha's spells consistently. Remus didn't answer. She looked up and saw him staring as if he was looking at nothing, deep in thought. "Remus?" She finally pat him on the arm. "Hey you ok? Drink too much at the pub?"

"Huh" Remus snapped out of his trance with a shake of his head. "Oh no. I didn't drink anything."

Suddenly, both Marlene and Remus jumped at a crash which woke up Sirius and Peter and brought everyone to a halt. When they looked over, they saw Tabitha had been thrown against the table with the tea and cookies by Angus' last charm. He raced over to her. "Delaney! I'm so sorry."

"It's ok." She rubbed her head. "It's why we are here right?"

"Tabitha!" Remus and Marlene ran over and helped her up, but Remus spun around to face Angus. "You're supposed to be using light spells!"

"I did! It was a simple levitation, she just didn't defened in time."

"Don't you dare blame this on her! You could have killed her." Remus gave Angus a little shove as his tone grew uncharacteristically harsher and louder.

"Oi! It was a levitation spell. Day 1 magic. It wasn't going to hurt her."

"But it did."

"Uh oh-" Sirius said as he woke up and the world stopped spinning. He stumbled over to Remus and set a hand on his shoulder. "It's ok mate. Hey look at me." Remus did so and Sirius said, "Breathe, mate." Suddenly Remus felt Tabitha slip her hand into his. He turned to face her and instantly began to calm.

"Tabitha, are you ok?" Angus asked.

"Of course I am, McKinnon. You did nothing wrong."

"Right," Remus snapped out of it and looked up. "Angus, I'm sorry. Maybe I am hungover."

"You said you didn't drink anything," An annoyed Marlene pointed out, still cross at Remus for flipping out on her brother.

"Then I guess I'm just an ass." Remus quipped.

"You're not an ass, Remus," Sirius said. "You're just tired." He looked across the room to James who was watching carefully and gave him a nod. "Maybe we all should call it a day and head out a bit early huh?"

"Right." Remus said through gritted teeth as he knew it was time. Extreme fits of agitation signaled the last phase before the full moon. It was time for them to get ready for it.

Everyone cleared the space and Remus saw Tabitha pickup up the mess she'd made when she crashed into the table. He stood next to her silently and opened his mouth to ask her one more time if she was ok but she quickly said, "I really am fine, Remus."

"Ok. Good." He took a breath. "How did you do that?"

"What?"

"You, calmed me down. Almost instantly. Sirius used to be able to do that when we were kids. It's been a while since he's been able to get a grip on me like you just did though."

"I just," She looked up at him. "I wanted you to feel safe."

"I do feel safe with you, Tabs."

Tabitha smiled and looked over at Sirius, James and Peter who were waiting for him. "You should get going. It will be dusk soon."

"Right." He turned to leave but she took his hand one more time and gave it a squeeze. "Hey. Good luck."

"Thanks." He refused to let go for a moment and thought about the moments they had shared over the week. He thought of how much closer they grew living with the Potters. He thought of how she was almost killed not more than a month ago and how strong she was being away from her family. "Food." He blurted out.

"What?"

"Food. You like food?"

"It's pretty essential to life."

"Well maybe. In a few days. When I'm feeling. You know. better. We get... food?"

"Are you asking me on a date?"

"Yea. I am." He grinned.

"Well then, yes. Food is good."

"Good."

"So food it is then. I mean a date then."

"A date."

"Good. See you on the other side of the moon, Delaney."

"Night, Remus." She said with a smile before they parted.

Potter Estate - November 5, 1979...

The next morning, Lily woke up in James' room back at the Potter home as the sun hit her eyes through the window. She glanced at the clock and saw the time then let out a groan and internally cursed the sun for waking her. She rolled over in the sheets and felt the bed beside her. "Morning, love." She mumbled but when she didn't feel anyone she opened her eyes more and saw James wasn't there. It took her only a second longer before remembering that the full moon had been the night before. She jumped out of bed as fast as she could and grabbed her robe, wrapping it around her to keep the November chill out of the air. She slid her slippers on and darted out into the hall. She was halfway down the steps of the grand staircase when she stopped and heard the clanging of a teaspoon as if someone was making tea or coffee. Lily tip-toed down the steps further and passed the study where Angus was snoring away. A few portraits of the Potter Ancestors were snoring on as she passed them in the hall, taking care not to wake them. Once in the dining room, she exhaled a sign of relief at the sight of James stirring his coffee, eyes tired and clothing a mess and his glasses beside him on the table. She moved across the dining room and rested a hand on his shoulder. He didn't even flinch, recognizing her touch. "Morning." He whispered. Lily lifted his face in her hands and gave him a kiss.

"Morning." She ran her hands through his hair but stifled a gasp when she felt something damep. She pulled her hand away and realized that he was bleeding from his head. "James-" She couldn't finish as he grabbed her gently by the wrist and pulled her in for another kiss.

"I'm fine," he said quietly when they pulled away.

"What happened... to your glasses?" She said trying to make herself sound as if she wasn't panicking about his wound.

"Broken. Mum has a spare set I'm sure."

"And your head?"

"I flew across the room and hit a brick in the fireplace. It's just a scratch."

"Remus?"

"He's in bed. Sirius is getting cleaned up. His Padfoot got the worst of it, but he's ok. Peter went to bed just after Rem did." James gave her hand a tug and pulled her onto his lap, holding her close.

"James," Lily said. "Has it always been this bad?"

"No. Not at all. Last month was the first moon we spent with Remus in a long time and it was almost as bad at this, but Sirius and Peter were still so bloody hungover from the night before-"

"Don't be cross with them, James."

"I am bloody cross with them." He snapped and then took a breath, giving her a light squeeze. "I understand why Remus left home now."

"I've never asked before, but did Remus ever tell you what they did at home for him?"

"Yea." James peeked over her shoulder to make sure nobody was listening then whispered, "His dad built a special room in their cellar. Then he chains him up and adds charms to the chains and locks. This summer the wolf had become so strong that he managed to break out of half of it."

"Merlin's beard." Lily sighed in disbelief.

"He already hates that his dad has to do all that. He knows it crushes the poor man's soul to lock up his kid. But then for it to not even be effective." James shook his head. "He left home in the middle of the summer. Spent two full moons on his own. Still refuses to tell me where."

"There has to be something we can do for him."

"We better figure it out fast. I have a feeling the closer we get to his 20th birthday, the stronger the wolf will get. It won't be safe for anyone to be near him at the full moon."

November 7, 1979...

Days went by and Remus didn't leave his room. Normally, the days after the moon he was only sluggish a weak but still awake. This turn had been different though, as James had said to Lily. Tabitha and Marlene helped with wedding preparations as the 9th neared. The wedding was just two days away and the Potter's home was full of flowers. Mrs. Potter scurried through the home in a big fuss to get everything ready for her only son's wedding and Mr. Potter tried to stay out of the way. He stumbled into the backyard as Mrs. Potter tossed him out of the kitchen and grumbled to himself as he lit his pipe. Lily was sitting by herself holding an arrangement of flowers and Mr. Potter made his way over to her. "You're back." He grinned and she looked up at him.

"Oh, hello Fleamont."

"Well, where is your family? I thought you were going to get them and bring them to the party tomorrow and the wedding ceremony on Friday." He sat down beside her on the garden's brick wall. "Or is that sister of yours giving you a hard time? James told me you two have a hard time connecting."

"No, sir. It isn't Petunia. I've not gone to my parents yet. I've been out here all day getting things together." She looked across the lawn. "Kind of silly isn't it. A big party like this in the middle of a War."

"Dumbledore would say happiness can be found in the darkest of times."

"I know," she smiled softly. "I guess I'm just delaying going to get my parents."

"Why is that? They are welcome here anytime. We are going to be family all of us." Lily winced a bit at that and Mr. Potter noticed. He set down his pipe and pat her hand. "You can confide in me Lily. I promise not to tell James. What's wrong?"

"Dumbledore gave me a mission. I'm not sure I can carry it out though."

"I see. Is this one personal then?"

"Yes, sir. And now I know the next time I see my parents," she took a breath and gazed out at the lawn, "May very well be the last time, or at least the last time for a long time. I think that's why I desperately want this party. It may be the last time all of us have a night together."

"What exactly did Dumbledore ask of you Lily?" The elderly man asked and she hesitated. "Come now. You're my daughter too now. You can tell me. Let this old man share the burden." Lily looked up at his kind eyes and wrinkly smile. She felt as though she was in the presence of an old, wise friend. In many ways Fleamont Potter reminded her of Hagrid, Professor Flitwick and Molly Prewitt all rolled into one.

They went on talking and from the window above, Remus was watching but their backs were too him so he could only wonder what they were talking about. Remus pulled the curtain shut and walked over to the bed, laying down at a glacial pace is if every boke in his body was aching. He gazed up and watched the charm Lily had cast on the ceiling for him of the sunlight dancing as if acting out a play. He was mezmorized by it when Sirius came in and broke his concentration. "Well look who is finally awake." He said to Remus and grinned as he walked across the room to his desk and scanned its contents searching for a notepad.

"What day is it?" Remus groaned.

"Wednesday, Sleeping Beauty."

"Blimey. This time was a doozy wasn't it."

"Nah. Not too bad." Sirius. Finally discovered the pad he was looking for a grabbed a quilt, tucking both into his pocket. He strolled up to the bedside and saw the light display. "Evans did that for you."

"I know. I recognize her magic."

"You've also had daily visits from all of us. Mrs. P checks in on you. Don't worry, she think's you just have a cold. Then there is nurse Delaney."

"How bad was I when she saw me?"

"Pete and I got you cleaned up before tucking you in."

"Thanks, Padfoot." He sighed.

"Well... the tray is fresh," he said motioning to a breakfast tray on the bedside table. "Kip just sent it up about 20 minutes ago. I made sure he put hot chocolate in the pot instead of tea. Oh, and don't think you are getting out of your wedding responsibilities, sir. Once you're feeling better, Mrs. Potter says she wants you in the kitchen to taste test the cake. No arguments now."

"Sirius."

"What's up mate?" He said nervously as he heard Remus' tone.

"Let me see it." Sirius didn't reply so Remus sat up on the bed and looked at him. "The scratch."

"How-" Sirius blinked, "What are you talking about?"

"I know I used to just be able to remember bits and pieces of the full moon but in the last couple of years the whole night is starting to be more clear. I remember everything the next morning. It's like a bad dream."

"Well, this time it was just a dream, Moony. You didn't touch me. So you must have dreamt it."

"Sirius."

"Sorry mate," He turned to leave the room quickly. "James has asked me to write a speech and you know two days isn't nearly enough time to procrastinate." He was almost to the door when it slammed shut in front of him. Sirius turned and gave Remus an impatient look as the young werewolf lowered his wand.

"Show me."

Sirius sighed and lifted his shirt tail slightly. "There is nothing to see. It's all bandaged." He revealed his waist which was wrapped in cloth. "But I was padfoot the entire night. I event waited until I stopped bleeding before changing back to be sure."

"You swear?" Remus asked having turned green at the thought of what he could have done to his friend.

"On the Bloody Baron's grave, mate. I swear it. I'll be fine."

"And James? I threw him against the fireplace. He hit his head hard."

"Not half as hard as he will hit me if I don't get this speech done-"

"Sirius. I've asked Tabitha out on a date."

"Oh?" Sirius blinked. "Aren't you the king of changing the subject."

"Not exactly," Remus said and he winced at his muscle soreness as he sifted in his seat to sit on the edge of the bed and grab a bit of toast which he just held and stared at instead of eating it. "I think I need to back out. Better to break her heart than break her body, right?"

Sirius walked back across the room and sat beside his friend. "Look mate. I don't know the right answer here. I'm not the best person to ask. Romance is James' department. I just like the chase. But you and Tabitha clearly seem to keep trying to run away from each other, only to end up right back together. Maybe the only way to see it through and get the real answer you're looking for is to just try it."

"But the moon-"

"Damn the bloody moon, Remus. We will find a way. I swear. We will find a way to keep the wolf from growing so that you can have control. You deserve happiness. I won't let you be deprived of it because of some damn scratches. Got it?"

Remus nodded silently and said, "Fine. I'll go out with her as long as you promise me one thing."

"Name it."

Remus looked him dead in the eye and said. "If it ever seems like the wolf is going to take over, break free, and hurt someone... I mean really hurt someone. I need you to promise me you'll-"

"No."

"-Do what it takes!"

"No, Moony."

"Sirius, please. I'm begging you."

"I'm not going to kill you, Remus." Sirius stood up and walked across the room to try to escape the conversation.

"It won't be me you're killing. I'll wake up from the moon a dead man anyway if I take someone's life as a wolf, especially a friend! Please promise me."

"Moony listen to me," Sirius turned and faced him.

"No you listen to me! I scratched you during a full moon, if you hadn't been transformed into a dog at the time, you'd be half werewolf now. Or worse. What if I bit you? Some moons make the transformation so powerful that even an animagi charm couldn't protect you from that. You'd be cursed just like me. And what about Tabitha? Or Marlene? or Lily? What do they do if the full moon rises and they are nearby without an animagi to hide behind? This beast is getting stronger than I can control, Sirius. I could kill you all. I could wake up one morning and find my worst nightmare come to life. You have to promise me you won't let that happen... no matter what it takes."

"Eat your breakfast. And go on your bloody date." Sirius said coldly then left the room to write his speech, slamming the door on the way.

Dinner had been quiet, under the watchful eye of Mrs. Potter who kept demanding to know what mission the boys had been on that landed them in such fragile condition. James deflected the questions easily with the help of Sirius, as they had much practice as boys avoiding the knowing gaze of Mrs. Potter. Dinner concluded quickly as Mrs. Potter began to ask more questions about Remus' illness and how he could have a cold even though he didn't have any of the other symptoms. Everyone made their way to bed just as fast to avoid crossing paths with the curious woman again. Tabitha was heading to the washroom to get ready for bed and change when she heard Remus behind her. "Long time no see."

"Remus!" Her flannel PJ's and toothbrush hid the floor as she jumped. "You're awake!" She gave him a hug but instantly pulled away. "Oh, Sorry. I bet you're sore."

"Very. But walking ok now after some sleep. I'm sorry I've kept you waiting. The last moon packed a wallop."

"I know. Everyone has been checking in on you. How long have you been awake?"

"In and out the last couple of days, but today was the first day I stayed up like normal. I just wanted to stay in bed to get my strength somewhat back, and to avoid doing wedding chores." He grinned and looked at the things on the floor. "Getting ready for bed? But what about our date? As I recall, we had one planned for after the full moon. And I'm nothing if I'm not a man of my word. It's now or never if we want to get away for a bit."

"What? Now? Are you sure? You're still recovering."

"A perfect reason for some food. I feel like I could eat an entire feast." He forced a smile, still feeling like what he was doing was selfish, but he thought of what Sirius had said about giving it a chance.

"Should we be doing this?" She asked as she faced him as she grabbed her items from the floor. "We can wait until you're back to full strength." Her nose wrinkled a bit and she smelled the air. "Are you... are you wearing cologne?" She couldn't help but smirk when she saw his embarrassed look.

"I might have stolen a bit from Sirius' bag."

"Well we can't let that go to waste, can we?" They smiled at each other and she said, "Meet me downstairs in 2 minutes."

"Wow," Remus said as they walked down the gravel path towards town. "It's so quiet out here."

"You think this is quiet? All the crickets and frogs on my family property are too scared of banshees to make a sound. It's ghostly quiet there."

"Blimey," Remus shuttered, "I bet you had the best ghost stories at the quidditch bonfire."

"Of course I did... but I didn't share any."

"Why Not?"

"Because... my stories are true."

"Ah..." Remus nodded. "That's understandable. Same with me. I've got a great, 'Monster under the bed' story for a rainy day." Remus shoved his hands in his pockets and started down at the road passing under his feet. He realized Tabitha stopped and looked back to see her pausing to look at him. "What?"

"That's just... the first time you've eluded to how 'it' happened."

"So it is. I guess I'm realizing I can't hide my life from people who care about me." He kicked a pebble down the road before extending his hand. "Come on. It's time you knew." Tabitha hesitated a moment before taking his hand and continuing up the road with him as he revealed the story of how his father was one of the Ministry Officials who worked on the case that prosecuted a criminal, claiming to be a muggle, but suspected of being a wizard who murdered two young children back in the 60's. Remus' father was the only one who recognized the crime as a werewolf attack, and saw the symptoms on the suspected man's face - thinking him to be a werewolf, only claiming to be muggle. There hadn't been enough evidence to prove the man was werewolf at the time so he got away with the crime.

"So they let him go?" Tabitha asked.

"Yes, but not before dad protested in the trial. Dad insisted he was a werewolf and said some things against werewolves that the man didn't like. He said they were soulless and evil and that should be evidence enough to convict a monster." Remus and Tabitha had linked arms at this point and she could feel him tensing at the story. "A few nights later, that same man snuck into my room right before dusk. He waited there. He listened while my mother tucked me in. He probably laughed when my father wished me good-night and said he loved me. Then the moon came."

"Oh Remus-"

"He meant to kill me that night, just as he had killed those children, but Dad got to us in time and faught him off of me. The damage was done though. Mum homeschooled me for primary school, but Albus Dumbledore himself had to make a house call to convince them to send me to Hogwarts. I'm glad he did. If he hadn't I would have just stayed cooped up in my room all the time."

"I'm so sorry, Remus. But I'm so proud of you for never letting what happened to you steal who you are. I wish I was that brave."

"You are brave. You're a Gryffindor!" He boasted but she stayed quiet. "Tabs?"

"I was sorted into Slytherin actually. I could hear the sorting had starting to sound out the 'S' when I shouted "Gryffindor! Please' and the hat let me choose."

"Lots of people choose their house. The hat wouldn't place you anywhere if he thought you weren't a fit though, even if his first sort was to put you somewhere else. But why would pick Gryffindor?"

"I'm already the first girl in a long line of male descendancts that carried on the family name. The Delaney name dies with me. It's the end of an era. I wasn't also going to be the first in my family not Gryffindor. Honestly I think that's why I resent Sirius so much. He got to break the Slytherin mold, but I did what I thought my family would want. I guess I'm jealous of him in a way."

"It's a lot of pressure I know. But then why didn't your folks just try for a son if the family is so worried about the name going on? Then that would have taken the pressure off you."

"They did have a son, Remus." Now it was his turn to bring them to a halt and stare at her. She continued, "I had a little brother until I was 10. He was supposed to get the family wand and all the Delaney glory, but he died when we were kids."

"Oh, Tabitha..."

"Mum was so terrified to loose me that she kept us pretty isolated most summers."

"No wonder you wanted to see the world."

"I loved my brother very much. I let him down and didn't protect him the way I should have."

"Tabitha whatever happened I'm sure it wasn't your fault. Just like what happened to me isn't my fault." He thought for a moment over his words and added, "I wonder if we haven't been terribly foolish."

"I was just thinking the same thing."

"We haven't failed our parents. They probably think they've failed us."

"But they haven't. Everything they've done has been for us."

"And I guess that's why I feel like a burden sometimes."

"But Remus, they love you. You could never be a burden to them."

By this point they had arrived in town and Remus looked up at the owls atop the muggle post office that were hooting away as the sun began to set. He didn't see the owl that had delivered his dad's letter to him the other day, but he did see a phone booth nearby. "Tabitha. I've got to make this right."

"Go on. I'll be in the cafe. I'll get us some tea. Come in when you're done." She gave his arm a supportive squeeze as she considered writing her family as well.

"Thank you. And thank you for trusting me with all of that Tabitha. I know it was hard."

"Burdens are lighter when shared. That's something my dad always told me."

"Mine said that too. I could use that advice. Back in a jiffy." He walked slowly, having exhausting some of his strength walking from the house, towards the payphone. Tabitha made her way towards the cafe on the corner. She moved past a few muggles who were finishing their business of the day when a man rammed into her and sent her sprawling to the ground. "Oi! Bloody Eejit!" She shouted.

"oh I'm sorry," the man said and held his hand out to help her up.

"No. No I'm sorry. It was an accident.' But as Tabitha took his hand and a shiver ran through her veins. She yanked her hand away and stood up without his help. She looked over his appearance. He was tall and pale with dark hair, a trench coat, and smelled of cigarettes, but nothing seemed threatening. And yet she got a bad feeling about him. "No harm done. Goodnight then." She turned away and moved back towards the cafe when she felt the dark presence of someone following her. She turned to look back and saw the stranger behind her a few meters. She picked up the pace and he did too. The cafe was getting closer but the streets were starting to empty and she felt completely alone with this dark figure behind her. She extended her hand to reach the for the door, just a couple feet away when she was grabbed from behind.