Chapter Seven:

Hari was standing on the front steps of Hogwarts with Minerva, wrapped up in his new navy blue coat and a wooly hat and clutching onto a small overnight bag. The wind ruffled his hair into his eyes as he squinted to see the upcoming arrival of Remus. Minerva, frowning at the dreary weather, checked her watch again. "He should be here by now," she muttered, stuffing her hands inside her pockets, "I hope he's alright."

"He probably just got held up in Hogsmeade or something. He'll be fine, Minnie." Hari tried to be reassuring, smiling at Minerva and sticking his hand inside her pocket to hold her hand. Sure enough, Remus' distant figure appeared up the path not ten seconds after Hari's comment. "Uncle Remus!" he shouted, pulling his hand away, dropping his bag on the floor and sprinting down the steps so fast he nearly toppled down them.

He sprinted all the way across the grass until he nearly tackled Remus to the ground with a fierce hug. Remus grunted at the strength of his hug, stumbling slightly. "You are getting far too big for these running hugs, Pronglset," he grumbled even as he bent down to hug Hari nonetheless, smiling into his hair.

"Maybe, but you still let me," Hari said into Remus' coat.

"I see you survived Hari's attempts to take you out," Minerva's voice said from behind. Hari turned his head to stick his tongue out at her, promptly getting squashed between the two adults as they greeted each other with a hug as well. "You're—suffocating—me!" Hari choked dramatically, trying to pull out from between them.

Remus chuckled and messed up Hari's hair further. "You'll survive," he teased. Hari batted his hand away from his hair, pouting. "Are you ready to go or not?" Remus asked, already taking Hari's bag from Minerva and putting it over his shoulder.

"I'm ready!" Hari brightened up, pout easily turning into a wide grin.

"Sure you've got everything?" Minerva asked sternly, raising an eyebrow.

Hari nodded, shutting his eyes to remember packing everything. "I have a change of clothes, my pyjamas, a book and my deer stuffie," Hari listed off before opening his eyes again.

"Sounds like you've got everything." Minerva smirked, sharing a laugh with Remus over Hari's head as she pulled him into a goodbye hug. "I'll see you again tomorrow afternoon," she said, pulling away and kissing the top of his head.

Hari waved goodbye and started down the path, grabbing Remus' hand to pull him behind. "I'll try to bring him back in one piece," Remus said over his shoulder, winking. Minerva shot him a rude hand gesture, unbeknownst to Hari who was still adamantly yanking him towards Hogsmeade. "See you tomorrow, Minnie!"

They wandered down through Hogsmeade village, Remus nodding in greeting to the people he passed, holding tight to Hari's hand. "I already got you some Honeyduke's sweets on my way here, so I'll give you those when we get to my flat," Remus said when Hari stared at the small shop front advertising sweets. Hari brightened up, pulling him more eagerly towards the Apparition point.

"Hold tight," Remus said once they got there. Hari nodded and Remus spun on the spot. Hari felt the familiar uncomfortable feeling of pressure on his entire body and all the air in his lungs disappearing before arriving in the alleyway of a small, dingy cobblestone street. "Come," Remus whispered, pulling Hari around the corner.

Remus' Yorkshire flat was situated just around the corner in the middle of the old, somewhat rundown town. He pulled his keys out of his pocket on the way up the dusty concrete steps, pulling Hari quickly towards his house. He didn't stop to chat with an old man shuffling past them on the stairs and kept quiet as he unlocked the door to his flat. The door stuck slightly and he had to push his shoulder hard against the door before they could step inside the small flat.

It was deathly cold inside the flat and Remus had to put the fire back on in the tiny fireplace. There was only one bedroom, so Remus had set up the small pull out couch for Hari in the living room area, dropping Hari's backpack on top. Dropping his keys onto the table, Remus turned to face Hari, forcing a small smile.

"Would you like some lunch before we head to–to Godric's Hollow or do you want to go straight away?" Remus asked, voice slightly higher pitch than normal. Hari pretended not to notice, shrugging noncommittally at the question. "There's a cafe around the corner from here we could stop at on the way?"

Hari nodded, looking out the window at a dog eating out of a tipped over bin. "Do they have hot chocolate?" Hari asked, pulling his eyes away from the dog and back to Remus.

"I'd assume so. Most coffee shops tend to, at least," Remus replied, picking his keys up off the table again. "Is that a plan then? Shall we head off now or do you need to use the toilet first?"

Hari shook his head and moved to get to the door. "I'm fine. Let's go get hot chocolate!" Hari exclaimed, stepping aside to let Remus open the door and step into the hallway again. Hari looked at the peeling letters on the door across from Remus' flat as he locked the door, wondering who lived there. Remus finished locking the door and held out his hand for Hari to take and then they were making their way back down the stairs together.

The sky was beginning to brighten up slightly as they made their way through the small village, people walking past with their dogs or carrying rolled up newspapers. A few Halloween decorations were placed in the shop fronts, though many appeared to be closed or up for lease, metal shutters down and people loitering outside them with cigarettes. They stepped inside a tiny coffee shop with a moldy carved pumpkin and a paper skeleton in the window, a bell tinkling overhead.

Inside the shop, it was cramped with a few chairs and tables and a small queue of people. There was a small notice board above and behind the countertop, menu items scrawled in fading chalk letters. Hari noticed hot chocolate on the menu and tugged on Remus' jacket sleeve to point it out. He nodded, stepping forwards in line and mouthing silently as he read the other menu items. A few minutes later, Remus ordered a hot chocolate, a panini and an earl grey tea and pulled Hari over to the collection point.

"How's the studying going?" Remus asked while they waited, bobbing up and down on his heels. Hari could feel the anxious energy from beside him, but couldn't figure out why he was so nervous. He took Remus' hand again, hoping to be of some sort of comfort even if he couldn’t find the words.

"It's good. Maths is still the hardest, but I'm enjoying the books Minnie has me reading," Hari said. "I'm halfway through Little Women right now, which is kinda sad, but I like it. My favourite is Jo, but Beth is cool, too," Hari rambled excitedly, feeling Remus' smile on him.

"I vaguely remember reading that book," Remus replied, pulling Hari forwards their their orders were called out. "Who teaches you maths then?" He thanked the lady behind the counter as he collected their order, handing Hari a to-go cup and the sandwich.

Hari started opening the sandwich as they stepped back outside. "Severus does," he replied, swallowing a bite of food. Remus stiffened at the name, but carried on walking down the street, sipping his tea. "He's not that bad at teaching. He explains the stuff I don't get, but the work is really hard. I hate the multiplication tables and the shapes are stupid." Remus chuckled, almost choking on his tea.

Hari and Remus finished their drinks and panini and threw the containers in a bin before ducking into an abandoned alleyway. Remus took one last look around their surroundings, grabbed Hari's hand and then Apparated out of the alleyway. They arrived a split second later on yet another cobblestone street, tucked away behind a large dumpster. Hari followed Remus down the street, looking around at the various buildings they passed.

It was a quaint village lined with cheerful old houses with thatched roofs and ivy growing up the sides. There were low brick walls with metal gates in front of most houses, small gardens with dying flowers and faded garden ornaments. Several houses were also decorated for Halloween with scarecrows and jack-o-lanterns and toy bats on doorsteps and window ledges. They walked down the long stretch of stone street, smiling politely at passersby. A few people with children had costumes on, dressed as superheroes and princesses and vampires.

Hari and Remus made their way through the village until they reached a small graveyard near the centre. Remus led the way through the kissing gate and along between one of the rows of mismatched headstones and memorials. Hari followed close, occasionally peering at a few of the larger headstones or flower arrangements. Deep into the graveyard, Remus finally stopped in front of a marble headstone.

There they were, James and Lily, their names and life dates etched permanently into the pale white stone. Remus was standing as still as a statue, eyes glued to the headstone and hands balled into fists at his sides. Hari moved closer to the headstone.

"Hi Mum and Dad. It's Hari again," Hari murmured to the stone. Remus stiffened, making a strange, strangled noise in the back of his throat. Hari settled down on the hard, frozen grass in front of the headstone, running his hand through the indentations of his parents' names. He sniffled, looking at the ground. "I miss you guys. But I have Minnie taking care of me and Remus and Hagrid and all the others." He looked over his shoulder at Remus, still standing frozen, cheeks damp and eyes red. "Uncle Remus is here with me this time. I think he misses you, too." He added his last comment in a whisper, leaning closer to the stones like he was uttering a secret.

"I'll give you some alone time with them, Hari…" Remus muttered. Before Hari could protest, he turned and started wandering down the aisle between the graves, hands in his pockets and head bent down.

Hari continued to talk to his parents, telling them about life at Hogwarts and all the students he met and the teachers and how they taught him Muggle stuff. He talked about mundane things like Sundays with Minerva or going down to visit Hagrid or getting to see his friends. He told them about Draco and Neville as well, telling them about how cool they were and how he thought James and Lily would have liked them.

Having run out of things to tell them, Hari stood up again and walked back in the way Remus had gone. "Rem?" he called, looking up and down the rows and rows of gravestones. He saw Remus just ahead, sitting hunched over on a bench next to the small church in the middle of the graveyard. "Rem! Uncle Remus!" Hari speed walked over to where Remus was sitting with his face in his hands, sitting down beside him. It took him a second before he noticed Remus was crying, shoulders shaking and his fingers muffling quiet sobs. "Uncle Remus, I'm sorry. I didn't know it would make you so sad to come here…" Hari whispered, unsure of how to advance.

Hari had no idea how to comfort an adult that was crying. He didn't know if Remus wanted a hug or some space and he certainly didn't know what to say. How could he? He was nine and barely remembered his parents, so how could he possibly come up with words to comfort someone that knew them for years?

"It's okay. Don't worry," Remus whispered, wrapping an arm around Hari and burying his face in his curls. Hari adjusted to wrap both his arms around Remus, tucking his face in the crook of his neck like he always did. He could feel Remus crying on his shoulder but ignored it, hugging tighter because it was all he knew to do. Hari found himself tearing up as well, feeling sad about his parents and about how much Remus obviously missed them.

He wished he could remember them, but all he had left was a few old photographs and a headstone with their names on it.

Remus cleared his throat and pulled away, wiping the wetness from his cheeks with his thumb. He looked down at Hari, sniffling and just as teary as him and reached up to wipe away Hari's tears as well. He stood up and offered his hand to take, leading Hari back the way they came. They stopped in front of James and Lily once again and Remus pulled away from Hari to conjure up a pair of identical wreaths of white flowers Hari didn't recognise, placing them in front of each name, low down so their names were still visible.

"Do you want to talk to them and I go over there?" Hari asked once Remus was finished, hesitating as he looked down at the grave still.

Remus shook his head. "You don't have to do that, Hari. Thank you." He ruffled Hari's hair, smiling sadly, eyes twinkling with tears.

"Are you sure? I don't mind."

Remus sighed, running a hand through his thin brown hair. "Alright. Just a few minutes and then we can go, if you like," Remus replied, patting Hari's shoulder.

"Okay." Hari walked over to a headstone with a funny symbol on top of it, digging his hands in his pockets and shivering against the cold. He could still see Remus from where he was standing, his shoulders hunched as usual and his lips moving slightly like he was mumbling. He saw him wiping a tear from his cheek again and kissed his finger tips before touching them to the top of the headstone. Remus caught sight of Hari and gestured for him to come over.

As Hari neared, he thought he heard Remus saying something along the lines of 'I'm sorry' and 'I'll take care of him', but couldn't be sure. Remus put an arm around Hari, pulling him close to his side. "Ready to go?" he whispered. Hari glanced up and nodded. Remus steered Hari around, back in the direction they came from.

Outside the graveyard again, they stopped in front of the memorial left for the Potter family. There were many flowers and candles on it this time, due to the anniversary. "Did I really look that small?" Hari asked, looking at the statue of himself as a baby, without his signature lightning bolt scar.

Remus chuckled. "Pretty much, yeah. You've changed a bit, I suppose." Hari blanched, gasping in offense. Remus threw his head back, laughing at Hari's reaction. "I'm just kidding. Of course you look different. You're at least two inches taller now."

"Hey!" Hari yelled, shoving Remus so he stumbled, still laughing. "Minnie says I'll have a growth spurt one day!"

Remus hummed disbelievingly, wrapping an arm around Hari again and starting towards the Apparition point they arrived at earlier. "Keep saying that, Prongslet. That's exactly what James used to say and he never had one either," Remus teased, laughing when Hari scoffed again.

They Disapparated back to the alley next to Remus' house and walked in silence up to his flat. More people were out trick-or-treating now, passing Hari and Remus with wishes of 'Happy Halloween' and carrying bags of sweets. Hari eyed the sweets with jealousy, reluctantly following Remus up the steps to the flat and waiting for him to unlock it again.

Once he locked the door behind them and hung up Hari's coat over a kitchen chair, Remus pulled out a paper bag from inside his pocket and dropped it onto the table with a small thud. "There's the sweets from Honeyduke's I promised," he stated, pulling his own coat off and draping it over another chair. Hari grabbed the bag greedily and poured the small pile of sweets onto the table. Hari was already opening a packet of Fizzing Whizzbees when Remus piped up again, "Do you want to order a pizza for dinner? We can get any toppings you like."

"Yes, please! Thank you, Uncle Remus!" Hari chimed, smiling gratefully, eyes twinkling. Remus lifted the telephone off the wall and dialed a few numbers before pausing for a moment. Knowing how much Remus liked chocolate, Hari pushed a Chocolate Frog towards Remus' seat.

A couple hours after they were both stuffed with pepperoni pizza and too much sweets, Hari was trying to go to sleep on the pull out couch. He clutched his stuffed stag, Prongs, rolling over in the creaky bed. Every single movement was echoed by the horrible high pitch squeaking of the springs in the thin mattress, every individual one digging into Hari's back. A tiny slice of moonlight cut across the floor and onto the bed, thin and stark white against the darkness of the living area. The wind howled outside, rattling the old windows in their frames. Hari clutched his stuffed animal tighter, jumping when he heard a sudden crow cawing outside.

"No, thanks," Hari muttered as the crow cawed once again, throwing the thin blanket off himself and clambering out of bed. The springs groaned in high pitched protest and Hari shuffled flat footed towards Remus's bedroom, armed with an outstretched, trembling hand and a stuffed deer. He managed to get to Remus' room with minimal damage, only slightly kicking a door and running into a wall. Taking a deep breath, urged on by further loud crow noises, Hari knocked on the door. "Uncle Remus?"

The door creaked only slightly as he pushed it open, peeking his head through to see into the room. "Hari?" Remus' tired voice asked into the darkness. A lamp flickered on to reveal Remus sitting up on his elbows, squinting from the light. "You okay?"

Hari wordlessly moved around the bed to the other side, carefully lifting the covers up and climbing underneath them. Remus peered down at him, raising an eyebrow. Hari got comfortable, pulling the covers up to his chin and clutching the stuffed deer tighter. "It was too noisy and the bed was annoying. I didn't like the crows either." Hari murmured, shuffling towards Remus, looking for warmth. "You don't mind, do you? I can go if you want."

Remus shook his head rapidly, clicked off the light and laid back down. He raised his arm so that Hari could snuggle closer, listening to Remus' heartbeat against his ear. "Of course that's alright, little Prongslet. You can stay here," Remus whispered, combing his other hand through Hari's hair. "You're never too old to cuddle and you can always, always ask for help if you're scared or uncomfortable. Okay?"

Hari nodded silently against Remus' shoulder, crushing Prongs between them as he shuffled closer. "Love you, Uncle Remus," he whispered into the fabric of Remus' shirt.

Remus leaned down to press a kiss to the top of his head, still combing his hand through Hari's hair. "I love you too, Hari." Hari fell asleep not long after, calmed by the heartbeat in his ear, the steady rise and fall of Remus's breathing and the warm, protective embrace of his arms.

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Hari was absolutely starving. He had had to miss lunch due to getting held up by a trio of Bowtruckles that tried to pelt him with twigs and scratch his arms and face. Now, a couple hours before dinner, Hari was prowling the basement of Hogwarts, stomach gurgling loudly. As he reached the familiar fruit bowl painting, Hari carefully tickled the pear, stepping back as it turned into a green handle. He opened the door to the kitchens, ready to politely ask the house elves for a plate of biscuits before stopping dead.

The floor and walls were covered in a comical amount of spaghetti noodles, sticking to the surfaces and squelching underfoot. House elves were frantically trying to Vanish the messes, talking in panicked squeaks. Standing in the centre of the mess, soaking wet and covered in even more noodles was a girl of about 16 in a Hufflepuff uniform. She was apologising profusely, trying not to slip on more of the mess when she turned around and jumped in surprise as she made eye contact with Hari in the doorway.

"Oh fuck!—Shit, I shouldn't swear in front of a—damn! Oh!" the girl blabbed, slapping her hands over her mouth, eyes bulging comically. She was a sight to behold regardless of the pasta covering her, shoulder length blue hair and hundreds of bracelets and smudged eyeliner, staring at Hari in surprise. "Sorry, I'd say I'm not usually this awkward, but, well…" She gestured vaguely around herself.

Hari giggled, stepping inside the kitchen and closing the door behind him. "What even happened?" Hari asked, looking around at the rapidly Vanishing mess of noodles and steaming pasta water.

The girl blushed violently, chewing on her bottom lip. "Okay, so, I was just coming here to get some snacks because I was hungry and… I may or may not have knocked over the entire cauldron of spaghetti they were making for dinner tonight…" When she finished her story, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, Hari struggled not to laugh. He was sure she hadn't meant to do it and probably wouldn't appreciate it if Hari laughed at her. "You can laugh all you want. I'm pretty much a walking disaster," she added, grinning.

Hari giggled lightly for a few seconds before composing himself with ease, having learned well from Minerva. "I'm sure you didn't mean to," Hari said, "And you're probably not as clumsy as you think you are either."

The girl snorted. "No, I'm definitely extremely clumsy. I once accidentally knocked Professor Flitwick down a whole flight of stairs because I tripped over my shoelace and bumped into him as he walked past," she replied, rolling her eyes at herself. Hari couldn't help but laugh at the image of poor Filius rolling down the stairs. "I'm Nymphadora Tonks by the way. But just call me Tonks or I'll hex your hair off," she added, walking over to shake Hari's hand.

"I'm Hari," he replied, shaking her hand. "How come you don't want to be called by your first name?"

Tonks shivered. "It's a horrible name. It's too girly for me," she explained, shrugging. "I don't reckon I suit it very much."

"I like the name Tonks better."

Tonks beamed, eyes twinkling. "You know, Hari? I think that's the nicest thing you could have said." Hari's cheeks burned and he looked away. "What are you doing in the kitchen anyway?" Tonks asked after a few seconds of silence filled only by the frantic cooking of a hundred house elves.

"I missed lunch because I got attacked by a group of Bowtruckles," Hari replied casually. "I got too near their nest and they pelted me with twigs and scratched me everywhere. I only just got back from getting fixed by Pomfrey."

Tonks winced at his story. "I've been attacked by those as well. Nasty little buggers when they want to be," said Tonks, sharing a knowing grin with Hari. "Shall we get some snacks from the house elves and then get out of their way?" she suggested in a low voice, looking over her shoulder at the house elves that were scowling in her direction as they cooked.

Hari nodded in agreement and stepped past her. "Excuse me, could we maybe get a few leftover sandwiches from lunch or something? Please?" Hari asked the nearest elf. She nodded rapidly and paused her stirring before scuttling away. She returned a minute later with her arms full of wrapped up cakes, ham and cheese sandwiches and packets of crisps, which she handed to Hari, eyeing Tonks warily. "Thank you so much, Fifi!" Hari exclaimed, turning back to Tonks with his arms full of snacks.

Tonks relieved Hari of some of the snacks and held the door open for him, following him out into the corridor. "You sure know how to get on their good side," Tonks was saying as they made their way back down the dark corridor together.

"I often like to go and have cups of tea or read my books with them. They're good company," Hari explained, shifting the pile to avoid dropping one of the cakes. "Plus, I think anyone can get on their good side if they don't knock over half their work on the floor."

Tonks gasped, scandalised, elbowing Hari in the side so that she dropped one of the cakes. Leaning down to pick it up, she said, "Wow, Charlie was right. You are surprisingly quick witted for your age."

Hari brightened up. "You know Charlie Weasley?"

She nodded her head. "Course I do. Everyone does," she replied. "Plus, he's in my year. We have Care of Magical Creatures together and often work together with the creatures."

"I didn't know that. That's cool."

"So is Charlie. He's a brilliant Seeker," she stated where they turned the last corner leading towards the stairs going up to the entrance hall. She stopped at the bottom as another corridor lead off in the direction of the Hufflepuff common room. "Well, it was great meeting you Hari! Thanks for getting those snacks!"

"Nice meeting you, too, Tonks!"

Hari watched her go down the rest of the corridor towards her common room before turning to head upstairs, careful not to drop his pile of goodies.