He was running down the hallways, except the images skewed themselves to become something more horrible. They were carrying the people past in stretchers, but they weren’t strangers anymore. As he ran, he realized he knew almost every face they carried past. The young people weren’t just poor spectators anymore, but many of the students he’d taught.
Remus shoved the door open, but instead of a hospital room, he was standing in the long hallway of Greger Asketorp. He ran down the hallway, trying to find the hospital room, and his footsteps rapped loudly on the floor until they drowned out all other sounds. Thud! Thud! Thud!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Remus opened his eyes, wiping the sweat off his brow. ‘A dream,’ Remus realized as he noticed he was shaking. However, the thudding was still there, but he realized that it was only a knocking on his door. Remus scowled at himself for the fear the dream had aroused in him. He slowly stood up, stilled his shaking hands, and walked towards the door.
‘Bjorn is back,’ Remus calmed himself as he opened the door. On the other side stood the lean youth, looking as clean and perky as before. He gave Remus his dazzling smile, which drew Remus away from the nightmare.
“Remus!” Bjorn exclaimed as he beckoned Remus to come with him. “The Muggles have left for a couple hours, and you can have the place to yourself. Well, with the exception that I’ll be there.”
“Splendid,” Remus replied unenthusiastically. Only now did he realize that he’d have to go and look at things he’d rather not see. ‘Muggles?’ Remus wondered as he mused over what Bjorn had told him. ‘He stayed with Muggles?’
Bjorn led Remus back down into the lobby. Mrs. Olfssondotter was no where to be seen. Bjorn opened the door, which let another gust of frigid wind tear into Remus’s body. Remus reluctantly stepped out into the freezing weather, and he noted that it had gotten darker since he’d last been outside.
“It’s not far,” Bjorn called over the wind. Remus bent his head down and followed the young man along the streets. Remus couldn’t tell where the house actually was, and he didn’t bother counting if it took three blocks or thirty to get there. With the icy wind tearing through the pair, it seemed it took an eternity for them to reach it.
Remus slammed into Bjorn’s back and halted. “Sorry!” Remus’s apology was lost in the wind, but Bjorn didn’t seem to notice. He motioned Remus to follow him up a pair of stone steps. The steps were uneven, and gloomy honey mustard color curtains hung across the grimy windows. Even the bricks the house appeared as if even the rain hadn’t cleaned them in a decade. Overall, the place looked miserable, and Remus was stunned to see how impoverished and neglected the building appeared.
‘I didn’t expect this,’ Remus realized as Bjorn opened the weather beaten door with chipping gray paint. Bjorn ushered Remus into the interior first, where a wave of musty smell struck his nose. Remus blinked to adjust to the gloom, and he tried to adjust to the damp smell that he could even taste. He tried in vain to keep out the damp chill, which seemed to settle in his bones the moment he walked into the room. He could hear the wind still gusting outside as it swept across the landscape. Remus pulled his robes closer to keep out the dampness. He looked for a fireplace, which was a common fixture in a wizard house, and to his shock, he didn’t find one.
Remus walked over to a threadbare plaid chair, noticing that there was a stack of Muggle papers sitting beside it. He fingered the gray pages with their still pictures. His head rose and looked up to see that in the kitchen, beyond the sitting room, there were Muggle appliances, too.
“You may want to go to the bedroom.” Remus turned around and remembered that Bjorn was there, too. Bjorn produced a rusty key and handed it to Remus. “I think that’s where most of the wizarding possessions are, but I haven’t been there yet. The Muggles just got his body from the room, although one of our agents came shortly after and locked the door after suspecting there were magical items in that room.”
“You mentioned you cleared out Muggles.” Remus met Bjorn’s sapphire eyes, which had lost their carefree sparkle in the oppressing aura of the miserable house.
“He registered as a wizard, but I think that’s the only contact with the wizarding world he ever had while here.” Bjorn’s answered frankly as he gestured around the depressing abode. “The Muggles, specifically the Roman Catholic Church, are going to bury him tomorrow. It seems he was involved with a small group of them while here.”
“He cut himself off from the wizarding world,” Remus muttered to himself. He gazed around, hardly believing the truth himself. ‘He left it all behind,’ Remus thought, and he felt an unexpected twinge of anger.
“Where’s the bedroom?” Remus asked as he gazed pensively at his feet. Bjorn went into the kitchen, which had a washing machine, too. Remus followed and looked at the electrical outlets and the appliances he’d read about in Muggle studies. A feeling of abandonment began to rise in his gut, even though he tried to suppress it.
‘What should I have expected?’ Remus thought with a growing feeling of disdain as Bjorn led him to a door, almost completely hidden behind the refrigerator. Bjorn stood beside it, waiting for Remus to open the door with its chipping gray paint. Remus shoved the key below the brass handle and giggled it until he could feel the tumblers move. He gripped the worn handle and turned it slowly. Another assault of moldy air attacked his nose and made him gag for a second. Remus rubbed his eyes as he tried to adjust to this room, too. The gloom that ruled the house with an iron grip seemed to be the mightiest in this bedroom.
The room had one window behind the twin bed that was made with a quilt, which appeared to be the newest thing in the entire house. Remus decided not to look at the bed, remembering that Bjorn had said they retrieved the body from it. Instead, he focused on the dusty, tiny nightstand with a couple candles sitting upon it. Many of them had burnt completely, but there was still one that hadn’t been completely used.
Remus reached down and picked up the Muggle Bible below the nightstand. The pages had yellowed and many of them were earmarked from frequent reading. Remus placed it back down on the floor and opened the door in the side of the little nightstand. The murky inside hid everything inside the nightstand in darkness, and Remus stuck his hand in to retrieve what lay in the shadows. Immediately, his fingers curled around a thin, hard stick. He pulled out the ten-inch wand, which was covered in dust and had dull wood form not being polished or used in decades.
“Here.” Remus thrust the wand at Bjorn as he continued to rummage through the nightstand. Inside, he found the registration as a wizard of Sweden, a copy of The Prophet from March 15, 1979, and some spare galleons, sickles, and knuts. Remus took them out and handed the contents to Bjorn.
“I don’t know if we’re supposed to take the wand,” Bjorn replied awkwardly. “It’s usually buried with the wizard when they die. Sometimes, the wand breaks when the wizard dies. This one didn’t because it probably hadn’t been used in such a long time.”
“I don’t want it.” Remus’s voice was frank and cold. He had no interest in the wand. “Break it yourselves.”
Remus gazed around the room, which was otherwise bare, except for another door. Remus went over to it and turned the knob, which promptly opened into a closet large enough for just one person to walk into. Remus pulled a tiny string that hit him in the face when he opened the door.
A sickly glow from the Muggle light bulb filled the dingy closet. Remus gazed up at it for a couple seconds before looking around at the clothing, which was mostly covered in dust and worn so much that every garment had some patches in them. Remus felt his stomach turn, reminded slightly of his own wardrobe.
He noticed that, throughout the entire closet, there were closed boxes, which had the same layer of dust on them as the items in the nightstand. Remus flicked off the light and shut the door, deciding he didn’t want to go through the boxes today. He had a rough idea of what might be in them, though.
Bjorn remained standing, clean, fresh, and completely out of place in the shabby room. Remus looked at him, still holding the wand and papers. Bjorn reached into one of his pockets and fished out a folded mess of parchment.
“About a year after he came, he drew up a will with one of our wizard notaries,” Bjorn explained as he unfolded the papers. Remus felt the blood drain from his face for a couple moments. “I need to read this to you, Remus. You’ll be able to collect what is yours after the funeral tomorrow.”
“You can keep it all,” Remus replied stiffly. A strange numbness had descended upon his limbs, and talking was all he could manage.
“I can’t. I have to read it, and you have to collect it. Then, do what you want.” Bjorn’s voice held no cheery tones as he opened the papers. Remus felt his throat constrict slightly as Bjorn scanned the papers before he began to read.
“I, Edouard Jean Pierre Lupin, give my possessions and last wishes and requests as follows:
To St. Joseph’s Catholic Church I bequeath my house, its furniture, appliances, and half of all my current Muggle money to help their ministries.
To Mrs. Lena K. Nystroem and her family I bequeath the quilts she gave me, and all my clothing, drapes, and the other half of all my Muggle money.
To my son, Remus J. Lupin, I bequeath my Bible, any wizarding money, my wand, and all wizarding items contained in my closet or house.
I, Edouard Jean Pierre Lupin also request to be buried in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Cemetery and have a proper Christian burial. These here end the final requests and wishes of Edouard Jean Pierre Lupin.”
A dizzying silence descended over the room as Bjorn finished reading. He took the papers and stuffed them back in the deep pockets of his suit. Remus stared past the wall as Bjorn fidgeted in the center of the dreary bedroom. Bjorn finally coughed loudly, which ended Remus’s trance.
“Is that all?” Remus asked Bjorn in a stiff voice which was as frigid as steel.
“Yes.” With Bjorn’s answer, Remus began to stride out of the room. Bjorn held out the wand and small bag of money to Remus.
“Keep it,” was all Remus said as he left the room.
On another summer day, stringent sunlight struck the cobblestones as Evelyn Lupin led her young son down the street. The heat hadn’t really lessened the next day after their picnic as Evelyn took her son to run errands in the sweltering heat that pervaded Diagon Alley.
Evelyn was hauling several books under her one arm while she carried a couple bags filled with various items. She’d needed several plants and herbs, along with a new pair of robes and some ink. However, a trip to Diagon Alley was never complete without a trip to Flourish and Blott’s.
“Mum,” Remus whined again as he tugged at the yellow patterned flower dress his mother wore. Little cream and peach flowers decorated the soft, sunshine yellow dress Evey chose today. She hummed to herself as she let a grin slide across her cheerful face.
“Mummy is hungry, too,” Evelyn reminded Remus, knowing her little son last ate early in the morning. Evelyn led Remus to a table under a striped umbrella outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Evey set her packages down, and then told Remus, “Watch these while I get us a treat.”
She left the boy there, swinging his legs over the edge of the wooden chair. Evey came back several moments later with several ice cream sundays. One sunday was covered with caramel, and the other was overflowing with raspberries. As Evey walked back to the table with Remus, she didn’t notice a tall, dignified man with flowing, platinum blond hair coming towards her. When Evey turned her head and saw the man, it was too late. They collided, and the caramel sunday sloshed across his velvet, crimson cape and fine, black suit.
“I am so sorry, sir!” Evey exclaimed as she pulled out her wand and muttered “Tergeo.” Despite that the splashes of ice cream and caramel were being siphoned away from his clothes, the pale, flawless face of the man gleamed livid with anger.
However, Evenly didn’t seem to notice as she continued to apologize. “I did not even see you! I was being so clumsy. Is there anything I can do?”
After these words, Evelyn let her large eyes meet the cold, icy blue eyes of the man that she’d just finished cleaning. “Who are you?” He asked her sharply as he stared down at her with a slightly upturned nose.
“Evelyn Lupin, and this is my son, Remus,” Evelyn replied as she gestured to little Remus, who had been watching the scene unfold. With his child instincts, Remus had felt the man was bad because he was staring at his mother like a piece of unwanted furniture.
“Lupin did you say?” The man muttered, and a thoughtful look came over his face. His cold eyes then surveyed Remus. The boy bit his lower lip, unexpectedly afraid under the appraising stare. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lupin. Five galleons should cover the cost of your carelessness.”
“Let me get them.” Evelyn went and sat the Sundays down in front of Remus as she dug to find her money. She counted out five galleons and handed them to the man. “I never properly caught your name,” Evelyn mentioned as she gave the man her sunny smile.
“Abraxas Malfoy,” the man replied icily as he pocketed the money. He scanned Remus again, and a slight grin slid over his face. “You must be a bit provincial, since you’ve never heard of me.”
With those words of scorn, Abraxas Malfoy strode on his way to the Leaky Cauldron, leaving Evelyn alone with Remus. The boy felt better now that the man began walking away, but he stared at the caramel Sunday in disappointment.
“You can have this one,” Evelyn said as she gave Remus the raspberry Sunday and took the ruined one for herself.
“Why did you pay him after you helped him?” Remus asked as he looked across the table at his mother.
“I was being polite. He seemed slightly put off even before I ran into him,” Evelyn remarked as she remembered the moment before they’d collided. The man had been brooding before she sloshed caramel on him, so Evelyn only thought she’d worsened his day.
“He didn’t like you,” Remus pointed out before he began to eat his Sunday.
“Not everyone does, Remmy,” Evelyn replied with a shrug. “Your father’s parents didn’t like me a lot because they said I was still too attached to my Muggle heritage. They came from this pureblood family in France and left during the Muggle war. I guess they thought it was below their son to marry a Muggle born English girl.”
“That’s not a good reason to not like you,” Remus commented with the simplicity of a child. Evey laughed at her young son’s innocence as she met his sable eyes.
“It’s not a good reason, but people use bad reasons to make things right to them,” Evelyn explained. “But I want to finish my ice cream now, Remmy, and we need to get home.”
The conversation was settled for the time being as the two continued to eat their ice cream that had already half melted in the midday heat. When all Evey had left was a pile of caramel and vanilla soup, she threw away her container and waited for Remus to finish. When they were both done, the pair headed back towards the Leaky Cauldron and away from Diagon Alley.
“Hello,” Evey gave the bartender a cheery smile as she led Remus over to the fireplace. After a throw of Floo Powder, Evey led Remus through the flames and into the serene sitting room of their own house.
The log cabin in which the Lupins lived was surrounded by pines and perched on the edge of quite Sherwood Forest. The area was very removed, and the modest sized two-floor house was nestled safely in the undisturbed wood and only a short walk from a lake. The living room was connected to kitchen and dining room, and all the rooms had the same oak floors. The living room had two windows, which had been left open to let the fresh smell of the pine forest enter the house. The couch, love seat, and plush armchair were the color of the evergreen pines that grew outside. The sitting had a vase of fresh lilacs and baby’s breath sitting on a coffee table, while a portrait of wildflowers swayed in the imaginary breeze.
Evey sat the packages down and slid off her low healed shoes. She walked over to the coffee table, sat down in the loveseat, and waited for Remus to come bounding over to her. When she sat in the loveseat, Remus always knew his mother was going to read something to him. She reached across the coffee table and picked up Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems by John Keats.
“Let’s read before your father gets home.” She knew that her interest in Muggle clothing and literature displeased her in-laws, and occasionally Edouard had commented about her unusual tastes. However, Evey let it slid from her mind as she opened to one of the poems.
“Fair Isabel, poor simple Isabel!” Evelyn began to read to Remus in her clear voice. Remus leaned upon his mother’s shoulder and relaxed, glad to listen to her voice. Ever since he could remember, she would read all sorts of things to him. She would read stories about heroes and books about nature. Yet, both their favorites were always the poems she would read so eloquently.
“Lorenzo, a young palmer in Love’s eye!” Remus leaned his head against his mother’s arm and listened as she read to him the rest of the stanza. The thoughts of the man with icy eyes faded from his mind as he listened to his mother’s voice.
“With every morn their love grew tenderer. With every eve deeper and tenderer still; he might not in house, field, or garden stir, but her full shape would all his seeing fill.” Evelyn’s melodic voice echoed throughout the house as she continued to read the poetry.
Her tone rose and fell with emotion as she read the verses. Remus felt his eyes grow heavy as he leaned against her and simply listened to her voice. This poem was long, but Remus was old enough to grasp the meaning of the poem. However, the part that Evelyn began to read still bothered him.
“These brethren having found by many signs
What love Lorenzo for their sister had,
And how she lov’d him too, each unconfines
His bitter thoughts to other, well nigh mad
That he, the servant of their trade designs,
Should in their sister’s love be blithe and glad,
When ’twas their plan to coax her by degrees
To some high noble and his olive-trees.”
“Mum,” Remus muttered. Evelyn stopped reading and looked down at her sleepy son. “I still don’t think that her brothers were right. What did Lorenzo do wrong?”
“Nothing,” Evelyn replied gently. She ran her ivory fingers through Remus’s sandy hair. “They were just using bad reasons to justify themselves, Remus. People have always done it.”
“I don’t ever want to use a bad reason like those men,” Remus mumbled into his mum’s arm. A tender smile crept across Evey’s full lips as she pulled her little son towards her body.
At that moment, Evelyn paused and looked away from Remus because there was a green sparkle in the flames. A moment later, a frazzled Edouard Lupin stepped into the room. He had his briefcase with him, and his eyes darted anxiously around. When he saw his wife and son together, though, the lines on his face relaxed for a second.
“You look stressed,” Evelyn commented as she gestured to the couch. “Come sit with us.”
“Evey, I can’t do that right now. There’s a problem, and I’ve found out someone on the inside of the Ministry is embezzling funds. They’ve managed to get pull them out of the funds for auror pay and training. They’re putting them some where else, and I’ve got the list narrowed to less than a dozen people who could do this.” Edouard burst and rambled to his wife the information that he’d kept inside all day as he sifted through more papers.
“What are you going to do about it?” Evey asked as she put down her book. Edouard met her eyes, then looked away from a second.
“I’m going to go away from a couple weeks and figure this out. I’ll write occasionally,” Edouard told his wife. Evey frowned for a second as she thought about what her husband had said.
“Why?” Remus asked as he tried to understand what his father had said. His childhood mind didn’t comprehend embezzlement and the implications it could have when someone inside the ministry was responsible.
“It’s complicated,” Edouard began hesitantly, not sure how to explain it all to his son. “People . . . might come and find me, and I need to work a lot.”
Evey bit her lower lip as her brow furrowed in thought. “Yes, you probably should go, if there’s danger.”
“I think there could be,” Edouard replied softly as he walked over and embraced his wife and then his son. “I’ll be back as soon as possible. I’d prefer if you keep the fire out and don’t leave the house.”
“I’ll put some charms around it tomorrow,” Evey told Edouard. Then, she gave him her enormous, beaming smile as she said, “You’ll fix it, Eddy. Just go, we’ll be fine.”
The pair had made their way silently back to the little room above the streets of Or. Night had descended on the little hamlet rather quickly, and Remus found himself once again on the deserted landing in front of door 223.
After the entire walk back to the frumpy, little hotel in silence, Bjorn finally spoke. “I’ll be by early, say, eight, and the funeral is at nine.”
Remus responded with a deft nod as he reached out and turned the knob. He heard Bjorn’s footfalls growing dimmer as he headed away from him. Finally, Bjorn Asketorp disappeared down the stairs and left the abandoned wing behind.
Remus wearily walked into the dark sitting room and shut the door. The sound of the door shutting echoed throughout the deserted landing. He stood in the suffocating darkness for a second before pulling out his wand and muttering, “Lumos.”
The silvery light flickered around the room and caught a pair of glowing eyes in the doorway to the bedroom. Remus jumped at the shock, and almost fell backwards over the chair. After he recovered himself, he gave the large dog sitting in the bedroom door his most disapproving look.
“What are you doing here?” Remus demanded. ‘It’s just Sirius,’ Remus thought and scolded himself as he realized he’d let Sirius frighten him like that. However, the dog didn’t reply as he sat there with his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
“I hope you realize there’s Ministry personal with me,” Remus lectured the dog. Being as Sirius just continued to sit in the doorway, Remus appeared to just be talking to himself. “If you use magic here, they could detect it. I hope you were clever enough not to apparate into the country. They would’ve detected you passing through the magical barrier around their country.”
The dog twitched, and in moments, had changed into a lean, scraggly man Sirius was still about a head taller than Remus was, and the two appeared years older than they really were. Sirius had opted not to wear robes and dressed something like a homeless man, but that wasn’t too far from the truth of his situation. The navy jacket that appeared to have been worn through a war covered a dull gray shirt underneath. His jeans with patched knees hung loosely on his slightly emaciated form, and he’d let his beard and hair grow.
‘He still looks haggard,’ Remus noted as he eyed his old friend up. Sirius stretched, yet his lips twitched at the edges with slight amusement.
“You really think I would apparate in?” he asked. Remus shrugged as he walked past Sirius into the bedroom. He was too exhausted for a shower tonight, and was glad to find that he could just fall into the bed.
Sirius walked around the frumpy sitting room for a few moments. “I got news that you slipped out of the country. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”
Remus paused in his process of throwing his robe and shirt on the floor. “Are you sure no one saw you?”
“I rode a boat, and it took bloody forever,” Sirius grumbled. He plopped down on the threadbare chair and propped his feet up on the coffee table. “I stowed aboard as a dog, and it was a Muggle boat. I think I’m better off here for a while, anyway.”
“They’ve found you?” Remus inquired sharply. He locked Sirius’s eyes, trying to read if he was in real danger of being discovered.
“They’ve got a couple decent people in their little hunting party,” Sirius commented. “There’s this guy named Shacklebolt and my cousin’s little daughter.”
“Who?” Remus asked as he tried to imagine any other member of the Black family as an auror.
“Andy’s girl,” Sirius replied casually as he stood up. He hauled the other chair over and put the two chairs so that they were facing each other. He studied the space that he’d made with the two seats and gave a nod of approval.
“You’ll just have to stay hidden while Bjorn is around,” Remus told Sirius as he went back to undressing.
“I was going to go with you tomorrow.” Remus shot a sharp glance at Sirius, who hastily added, “but as a dog.”
“And Bjorn would ask how I got a dog,” Remus retorted as he climbed into bed. ‘He should’ve stayed in England,’ Remus thought. ‘But then again, that wouldn’t be Sirius, hiding away some where.’
“Tell him the room came with one,” Sirius quipped. With that last word, he changed and leapt into the little space he’d created for himself. Remus shook his head, partly annoyed and grateful. He murmured, “Nox,” and then slid into the bed to rid himself of the day’s weariness.