Remus - Houseguest
Remus was in an awful mood.
He hadn’t slept much the night before, the strange quiet in the flat too much for his overactive imagination. It didn’t help that Lily had decided to spend the morning running errands for Riddle, forcing him to collect the two numbskulls from the infirmary.
Remus wished he could describe this as an unusual turn of events but he seemed to find himself collecting Sirius from the makeshift hospital wing much too often these days.
The Blue-eyed boy was becoming more and more restless.
Remus had eventually pealed himself from his bed and stumbled out the door ready to rescue Sirius from the mind-numbing boredom of his hospital bed. Usually, Sirius would be staring numbly at the infirmary floor by the time Remus arrived, attempting to wear a hole into it with the sheer power of his eyes. So to say Remus was surprised when he arrived to see Sirius and the new guy hunched over a pack of tattered cards on the latter's bed would have been an understatement.
“Remus!” Sirius called, rising from his spot on the bed the second the door snapped shut behind him. Sirius’s footsteps sounded quickly as he threw himself into Remus's arms, who quickly adjusted his footing to support the burly man. “I'm so glad you’re here.” He said loudly, before leaning in to whisper “James is so shit at cards”. Remus could hear the smile in his words and gave a small chuckle, drawing his eyes to James on the rickety bed.
James’s eyes looked back and he offered a shy kind of smile, clearly unsure about what he should be doing next. “How are you feeling?” Remus asked them both once Sirius had detached himself from Remus’s front.
“Just splendid” Sirius said, hopping from one foot to the other clearly eager to go home. Remus ignored his friend, raising his eyebrow in the general direction of James.
“U-uh yeah, n-not too bad” He offered, with a shrug. Remus nodded, turning to Sirius’s impatient form.
“Let’s get going then,” Sirius said, already bounding over to the door. Remus looked to the boy in the bed opposite. He sat stock still in the middle of the starch white sheets, his short black hair messy from sleep. His face seemed quite clear except for a slight green sheen around his left eye and the now purple bruise on his jaw. His eyes were downcast and he was rotating a ring on his pointer finger that Remus hadn’t noticed.
“Riddle has suggested that you come stay with us for a bit” He announced, the same way Lily had phrased it when she’d told him the night before. Remus hadn’t taken kindly to the suggestion, he knew it was likely a poor idea to invite the man to stay with them.
“We have a spare room. It’s not a problem, and if you really hate it you can talk to Riddle's tomorrow.” Remus offered, he supposed the illusion of choice was always preferable. James stuttered
“a-are you sure,” James said, already rising from the bed with a half smile. Any lingering worry Remus felt about their unexpected houseguest evaporated when Sirius smiled at him; that wide sunshine smile.
Remus nodded and beckoned the boy towards the door. Sirius hung back, whispering loudly to the messy-haired man as Remus pushed through the door. “Told you he was a good sort”. Remus rolled his eyes, and bit down on his bottom lip to suppress a smile he couldn’t possibly explain.
The walk home was awkward, the silence being gallantly breached by Sirius’s misguided attempts at conversation. Remus took the walk through the busy streets of London in order to calm his mind, the honking of car horns and swearing of passersby a balm on his exposed nerves and the headache Sirius was intent on causing him. James for his part answered all of Sirius's insane questions, clearly trying to appease the boy by offering him his spare room. Remus finally snapped as Sirius tried to debate the merits of ‘aquatic cage fighting’ and instigated a no-talking policy until they reached the flat. James seemed to appreciate the ruling, sending Remus a conspiring look over Sirius's head.
By the time they finally reached the back door to the flat, Sirius had been talking for 17 minutes straight.
He carried on, his insistent noise accompanying them up each flight of stairs, through the kitchen and into the sitting room, where a very fluffy pair of socks could be seen poking over the arm of the sofa. Sirius’s mouth finally stopped moving as he saw the pink-knitted monstrosities and he quickly flung himself over the armrest and into Lil's personal space.
“What the fuck Sirius” she cried as his elbow landed somewhere in her stomach. Sirius said nothing as he struggled against her, vying for the TV remote. Remus gave a little shake of his head, warning James not to get involved lest the boy lose a limb.
Sirius won this time, Lily giving up quickly as he gnashed his teeth at her. Remus winced in sympathy, knowing just how hard Sirius’s bite was. Sirius quickly shut off the TV, his position on top of her the only thing protecting James from Lil's sight.
“Look who we got” Sirius called, arm beckoning James into Lil's view. James did as Sirius begged and Remus saw the exact moment Lil's face closed off. Her eyes narrowed into slits, as her lip curled and she opened her mouth.
“Ouch!” she cried, body arching as Sirius removed his fingers from the red skin of her arm.
“Be nice” He said, in the closest tone to anger he had ever used with Lily.
Remus was obviously not the only one surprised by Sirius’s demeanour as Lily’s nose twitched and she rethought her words.
“So happy to have you staying with us” She spat, her eyes never leaving Sirius. Remus stepped forward, opening his mouth despite his better judgment. “Lils” he said, the word carefully empty.
Lily’s eyes flared and Remus wondered what the boy had done to earn her wrath like this, from the look on his face James was wondering the same thing. His eyes fell back to Lily, knowing that if she wanted they would kick the boy to the curb - Riddle’s orders be damned.
“Let me go Sirius” she requested sharply, tugging against Sirius’s grip. He had gathered her hands in front of her, locked there in what looked to be a rather a firm grip, as though he were afraid she would lash out at any moment. A cornered dog who would bite without warning.
Her eyes softened slightly as Sirius squeezed her wrist, before letting his fingers fall from her arms. Sirius stands first, hovering next to their new room mate as Lily rises from the sofa. Her tone is blank, but not unfriendly as she says “Stay out of my way”.
Her socked feet silently pad across the living room and out into the hall.
The slamming door echoes through the flat and Remus tries to find a comforting word. James beats him too it, mumbling out the understatment of the century between his dry lips. “Don’t think she likes me all that much” He deadpans. Sirius’s lips part in a barking laugh and even Remus cant resist the smile tugging at his cheeks.
The day passes quickly, Remus shows James around the small space and leaves him to nurse his injurys in peace. Some girl who’s name Remus is sure he ought to know drops off James’s bag of clothes, before almost running from the doorway. Remus didn’t mind, quickly resuming his reading, only resurfising to cook dinner after a long grumble from Sirius’s stomach. He set the table and sent Sirius bounding down the hallway, to invite their new guest.
In Remus’s defence, he figured Lily would have calmed down by now.
As usual Remus was wrong.
The silence around the dinner table was oppressive, the situation most definantly not helped my Sirius’s comentary from the kitchen floor.
“I’m just saying, we should pick up an extra chair” He mumbles around his fork. Remus stared resolutly at his bowl, avoiding the blood curdling glare Lils was sending to their new room mate.
“T-theres no need” James said gallently, his eyes also on Remus’s bowl. “i’ll be out of your hair soon as possible” Remus cringed as Lils snorted slightly.
Her dislike was pallable to everyone in the room, and Remus was particullaly worried about her eventual snapping. Sirius continued to chatter absently about something he’d seen on the TV. Remus didnt know why he bothered. Their hunk of junk television played exclusivly reruns of triva gameshows and documentories on the ice caps. Still, he was greatful for the noise. His mind drifted as he observed the swelling on his friends face, drawing his eyes across the length of Sirius’s nose, before moving his gase across his muscular jaw. Sirius let out a barking laugh and Remus quickly looked away, eyes meeting the green eyes he had been desperate to avoid.
Lils said nothing, simply raising one eyebrow in a display Remus had been trying to mimic for years. “We have fitness training tommorrow.” Lils said, voice rising over the scraping of her chair against the hardwood floor. “Riddle's wants to check out how the new equipment shaping up.” Her voice was monotone but Remus understood the warning in the words.
Every few weeks Riddle would schedule a ‘training day’ where all members of the Death Eaters had the opportunity to showcase their skills in the hopes of moving up the ranks. Members sweating tirelessly in and out of the ring as Riddle paces the length go the hall, making note of members who need ‘extra motivation’. He says he does it to ensure no ones slacking, Sirius insits he does it to intimidate everyone.
Remus thought Sirius was right. Not that he’d ever say that. Sirius didnt need the encouragement, and Remus didn’t need the headache.
In truth he worried about Sirius, he was getting too loud, drawing too much attention. Sirius gets away with most of it; his outburst’s explained away by his loud personality and Lily's soothing words.
Remus sighed, hands slipping in the soapy water as he placed a wet bowl on the drying rack.
Sirius was restless, anyone could see it. He wanted out, it was written on his face, scrawlled allover that rediculous smile he insited on wearing at every second of the day.
He had been talking about leaving. Not to him, never to him. But Remus heard him, heard the whispers between his friends. He’s seen Sirius’s expression falter, seen the guilty look on Lil's face as she tells him no. He wants to be upset with them for keeping it from him, and he is. But he understands.
He knows if Sirius asked him he’d pack a bag, no questions, no protests. He knows Lils wouldn’t come, knows Sirius wouldn’t leave her, knows he couldn’t leave without her either.
A sharp pain erupts in his pointer finger. Crimson red spilling into the water, as Remus drops the knife back into the sink. Resentment fades quickly, replaced with guilt and the taste of pennies on his tongue. He stepped away quickly, glancing at the early hour as he left the kitchen. He walked quickly down the halls of his home, avoiding the creaking floorboard outside Lil's bedroom with a practised ease.
The door to his room banged loudly against the wall and Remus cringed, holding his breath as he waited to see if anyone had woken. After a few moments of blissful silence, Remus closed the door to his room. Kicking off his trousers, and shirt before crawling into his unmade bed. Then Remus began to count.
It was a trick his mother had taught him, to quiet his mind. Remus always found his thoughts the loudest as he lay in bed, when he was aching for sleep. His mind rattled, thoughts clawing at his skull, like prisoners in cages.
He started again: Picturing the number twenty clearly behind his eyes, and then the next, and the next. A few thoughts escaped, mindless little things, like the mess he left in the kitchen and the mail he forgot to collect.
The counting kept the nightmares at bay. The worried screaming dreams filled with fire, and brimstone. If he counted carefully enough Remus could rid himself of the smoke in his lungs, of the rising heat.
The left side of his body began to tingle. Pins and needles prickling under his skin.
He shook his head, refocusing on his counting.
1
2
3
4
5..
Remus was focused on the mesmerising swing of the punching bag before him when James burst into headquarters.
The sound of the heavy door slamming into the wall behind caught the attention of everyone in the room. Dozens of sweat-soaked foreheads turned to watch James’s arrival before darting towards Riddle's tense form in anticipation.
“Mr Brown, how delightful of you to grace us with your presence” Riddle drawled, as he moved silently towards James’s hunched form. He’d clearly been running. His breathing was laboured, his back bent forward with his hands resting on his thighs.
Remus tore his focus away from James’s bumbling excuse at the arrival of Sirius beside him. “Did you tell him what time we were leaving?” Remus asked quietly, cursing himself for giving such a job to his notoriously unreliable flatmate. Sirius’s nose twitched, his gaze falling to the space beside Remus’s shoulder.
Lily stood casually, her arms crossed in front of her and her lips pulled into a vicious smirk.
“I asked you to let him know when were leaving,” Sirius said, his disbelief plain.
Lil's smirk widened, “Actually you said ‘could you tell him’. I could have, i just didn’t”. A freckled hand rose to her shoulder, flicking her frizzy ponytail behind her. Remus gritted his teeth, remembering his mother’s superstitions about the Fae. Lils could be cruel when she wanted, she had her own brand of justice; just like the creatures in his mothers fable.
‘*Never trust a fairy, my boy’ cautioned his mother, her voice piercing his memory. ‘Beautiful creatures are always after blood.’*
“Is that true?” Riddle's voice echoed loudly through the hall as James studied his shoes. Remus watched as Riddle's eyes locked onto his, he waited as the man struggled to recall his name before failing and looking to his side.
“Sirius.” He snapped, “Mr Brown here tells me you, his new housemates” a few people in the crowd sniggered before Riddle raised his palm. “Failed to inform him when he should arrive for training. is that true?” Riddle's left eyebrow rose with his words and Remus felt Sirius cringe beside him.
“Actually, it was I who failed to inform Brown,” Lily said, voice confident in the face of Riddle's angry expression. "
Is that so?" Riddle asked rhetorically. "And why, may I ask, did you fail to inform our newest recruit of my expectations?" Remus watched in fear as Lily's hands flexed into fists. Her shoulders rolled as she shrugged, “Call it Hazing” she suggested.
Riddle's eyes flared as scattered laughter sounded in the hall.
"My office after training." Remus flinched at Riddle’s authoritative tone.
Lily said nothing, her shoulders loose and fists curled until Riddle directed the group to return to work. James followed Riddle quickly around the room, yapping at his heels without shame.
“What were you thinking?” Sirius scolded under his breath. The irony of Sirius being the voice of reason is not lost on any of them. Lily shrugged, walking slowly over to the threadbare sparing mats. She quickly selected the burliest man she could see, batting her lashes as she invited him to spar with her.
“Poor bloke must be new” Remus said out loud as the man laughed, sending his mates a wink before eagerly joining Lily on the mat.
“Either that or he’s got a death wish” Sirius confirmed, his form stiffening as Riddle and James came to a halt beside them.
Risking a glance at Riddle, Remus saw nothing but pure excitement swirling in his eyes as he watched the pair exchange brief words on the mat. Beside him James looked nervous, eyes flickering over the height difference between the fighters.
The man was an exceptional fighter, a powerhouse with fierce punches he aimed directly for Lily's skull. His feet were planted firm, and his teeth were bared as he aimed another strike towards Lily.
She smiled as his hit sailed past her for the third time, striking quick hits into his torso as she forced him to rotate his blocks. She ducked again, aiming a brutal punch towards his throat. The boy stumbled backwards, his movements shaking the ground as he tried to regain his footing.
Lily fought as though she were dancing. As if every move was choreographed, and she knew precisely where her opponent would strike next. She spun around her foe with lightning speed, her wild mane of hair the only thing visible as it trailed behind her.
The untameable mass of flaming hair was an obvious weak point. An easy strike if the bloke could wrap his fist around it, but Lily was fast. She kept dodging his swings as though he were a child play fighting, unable to hurt her at all. Remus watched intently as the man's face contorted with anger and desperation, he struck out harder, trying to land a blow anywhere.
Lily's smile turned sharp and a few men in the crowd behind her winced as she kicked out her leg, hitting him between his knees. The man fell like an oak, cut down with the swift blow of an axe. He grappled for her knees, digging his nails into her legs before she raised her foot, bringing it down onto his upper back.
The thud of his hollow head hitting the mat reverberated through the floor.
Remus turned his gaze to the men beside him: Sirius looked seconds away from cheering, Riddle’s lips were straight, his eyes blank and yet he looked the closest to content Remus had ever seen him. And James…well James looked like it was him she’d just beaten the shit out of. His eyes were wide as saucers, and his mouth was gaping like a fish as he looked at the already blooming bruises on the mans face and arms. “Holy shit,” He said absently as the man tapped the thin blue matt three times, he was coughing hard, something dark leaking from his parted lips.
The room was still, everyone having stopped to watch the show.
“Back to training” Riddle announced, as he walked towards a heavy wooden door on the other side of the gym. He quickly signalled Lily, Remus, and James to follow him, his strides not slowing as they hurried after him. Sirius followed his friends without prompting, stopping only briefly to laugh at the man on the mat who now appeared to be crying as someone reset his shoulder.
Riddle pushed through the large door with ease, taking a right turn down a long corridor. His long strides stopped as he reached down to open a smaller oak door with gold hinges. “My office” he announced for James’s benefit as he stepped into the room Remus saw in his nightmares.
Riddle took a seat at the large wooden desk, in the centre of the room. The space was the same as the last time Remus had visited, the walls were blank, painted a generic shade of cream which clashed horribly with the yellowing carpet. The desk was much the same, no photos or personal effects simply a few papers that Remus couldn’t read.
Riddle waited for Sirius to close the door before he began speaking. “Now I will ask you to correct your mistakes and give our newest member the introduction to our family he deserves.” Riddle scolded lightly, referencing their treatment of James. Remus nodded dutifully, as did James.
“We don’t tolerate Hazing of any kind. Something you know all too well.” Remus’s elbow shot into Sirius’s side as Riddle's brow furrowed “y..Yes of course Sir. Won’t happen again” Sirius’s voice was smooth, a smile already plastered on his lips.
“We take care of each other in the Death Eaters” Riddle said, eyes on James as the latter nodded quickly. Riddle swallowed, waving his hand in dismissal of the boys before turning to Lily.
The guilt was already festering in Remus’s bones as the door slammed shut between Lily and them. Sirius’s heavy footfalls filled the hallway, his mumbling only slightly louder than James’s breathing.
“She shouldn't have fucking done that…god..I just don't understand” Sirius said to himself as he paced. Remus’s head ached, the sound of Sirius's footsteps throbbing in time with his skull.
His face must have belied his annoyance as James is already backing away when he turns. “You just had to tell him” He growls, his frustration bleeding into his voice. James stutters and Remus takes another step forward. Trapping James between the wall and his own towering frame. Sirius places his hand on Remus’s arm, his voice placating as he gestures to James.
“It's not his fault” Sirius’s voice was confident, the sound suddenly grating against Remus’s ears.
Remus shrugs Sirius’s hand off, taking a step away from James. A low mumbling began inside Riddle's office. The sound rising as he and Sirius lock eyes, each turning quickly away from the door.
“We should go” Remus said, despite his feet turning to stone below him.
He had managed to drag Sirius a few paces down the corridor when the first thud was heard. The sound was loud, the accompanying groan leaving no room for misinterpretation. Sirius froze, body rigid as the sound came again, the wall before them shaking slightly as Lily's weight hit against it. James jolted, his body tensing beside Sirius. His eyes darted between the door and Remus’s own, his body turning back towards Riddle's office, only to be stopped by Remus’s firm eyes.
“Shit” Sirius whispered, his hands shaking. Remus needed to get him out now, before he lost his temper and made things worse.
The yelling was unmistakable now, cruel words accompanied the sound of each of Riddle's hits. “We should go” Remus repeated to a catatonic Sirius, forcibly dragging him through the door into the large gym they had left minutes ago.
Remus continued to lead the two silent men towards the gym exit. They had done enough training, and he needed to get Sirius home. Sirius’s forehead was crinkled and his eyes were unfocused, darting from person to person.
A blonde man, only slightly smaller than Sirius blocked the door to the alleyway behind headquarters. His skin was free of tattoos apart from a small numerical tattoo on the right side of his forehead. A scar ran through his right eye, which was milky white and clearly unusable.
Remus couldn’t fight the sigh that escaped him as Malfoy’s working eye caught their attempted escape. “Where’s your keeper Sirius?” Malfoy asked, dramatically looking around for Lily.
Remus’s skin crawled as Malfoy's working eye lingered on Sirius’s trembling frame. This wasn’t the time for Malfoy’s antics.
“Wish he’s let someone else take a go, I’d love to return the gift she gave me” His voice was mocking but the sentiment in his ruined eye was clear. Sirius’s arm pulled back quickly, flying forward with the sole intent of blinding Malfoy completely.
And he might have succeeded had Remus not noticed his tensing shoulders. His arm spread forward, stopping Sirius’s fist inches from Malfoy’s face. Gritting his teeth against the rising pain in his arm, Remus spoke to Malfoy. “I think you should go” he advised, pushing Sirius’s arm back to his side.
Malfoy reared back, a horrid hacking sound filling the air as a glob of spit landed on Remus’s cheek.
“Watch it” Malfoy warned, eyes falling to Remus’s long-sleeved sports shirt with a knowing look before he pushed past the men, back into the building.
Sirius said nothing, ripping his hand from Remus’s before storming through the alleyway.
Remus follows Sirius and pretends that it’s his choice.