Yorkshire III - Our Lips are Sealed
April 22nd, 1982
It was a bright day and the sunlight came gracefully embellishing the town of Kettlewell. Agnes was just back from a small hike she had planned for a few days, and had finally managed to make it happen, between a few days reading in her small cottage. It was nice, not caring about what was happening in London, and only enjoying a few moments of peace, after the terrible months she had spent the previous year. She liked living alone, and found herself cooking and making things by herself instead of havign recruited a house elf.
She missed Cosmey a little bit, but Mrs Dunbar had assured Agnes she was doing fine in one of her letters. Joshua and Jimmy were working hard on their career, and Mr Dunbar was starting to think of retirement. Things were changing, but Agnes welcomed it with a smile. She liked that it was changing.
She had come to the habit of eating at least once a day at the pub where Remus was working. They spent some of his free time together and had already been visiting most of the surroundings of the village. The young man liked his alone time as well, but Agnes enjoyed just watching him work or do his own thing. He was a reader as well, and they sometimes gathered only to read on their own, and then end up chatting about their book, asking each other questions and giving recommendations on their next choice of reading.
Remus had slowly started to open up, after weeks without being much of a talker. She knew he was pretty introverted, but the last events had shut him up almost entirely. He just woke up and went to work, and then rushed home and talked to no one.
But now, the young wizard was more comfortable opening himself to others, and Agnes had even seen him with a few kids playing by the fountain near the pub.
Today, she was walking down the little hill and was walking back to town. She had walked since dawn and was finally back to enjoy some well-earned food. She couldn't wait for that fish and chips the cook made her at least once a week.
She cleaned herself a bit with a spell and put her wand in her pocket before entering the pub.
- How was the view up there? Asked the owner, cleaning a few glass.
- Very good, I admit! Now, I'm starving. Agnes said, a wide smile on her lips.
Remus walked out of the kitchen and smiled softly at his friend, while fixing his apron on his hips. He looked really good in this uniform, and some female travelers had even hit on him a few times, but the young man had kindly stayed professional, rejecting each and every date proposal.
- You know, you might want to try and date someone, 'could be a nice new experience. Agnes said after everyone had left the pub, leaving her and her friend alone after his shift.
- What makes you think it would be a new one? The young man said, putting the chairs up on the tables.
- I never saw you with any girl except Lily back at Hogwarts. And you spent your free time in the library, where I was also.
Remus sighed, restraining a laugh.
- Why do you think I'd need such.. experience? He asked, after a moment of silence.
Agnes stared at her friend while still sitting at the bar.
- You're handsome, kind and polite to everyone. You have the sense of justice and you're smart. I'm sure you'd be the happiest thing to happen to a young woman. She said with a smirk.
She thought she saw his cheeks get pinker, but he lower his head, hiding behind his hair.
- That might not be enough, unfortunately. He admitted, smiling sadly.
She looked at him curiously. Was it his lack of self-confidence? Why did he seem always defeatist like that? She threw her hair back in a sigh and stoop up, walking towards the radio. On the vibe she picked, a funk song was playing. She smiled and started to move her arms to mimick a disco dancing. She closed her eyes and swayed to get closer to her friend.
- Alright, Lupin, show me what you got!
Remus stood there, agape. Slowly, his lips streched into a smile, and he laughed out loud.
- You're one of a kind, aren't you! He said, grabbing the broom he had betwiched to clean the floor.
The music was loud enough to fill the entire pub, now empty of customers. The owner had asked Remus to clean and close the place. Outside, it was already dark and the new moon outside leaving the town barely lightened.
♪ Can you hear them?
They talk about us
Telling lies
Well, that's no surprise
Can you see them?
See right through them
They have no shield
No secrets to reveal ♪
Remus was storing the last tools he had used and before he could grab the broom, Agnes held it as a mic, inviting him to follow her moves. He was still laughing at her expression before he finally gave in and started moving his hands before his face, repeating Agnes' choreography. The chorus of the song was so catchy Agnes jumped around, singing along. It was a muggle band she had heard a few times before she came to Kettlewell.
♪ There's a weapon
That we must use
In our defence
Silence
When you look at them
Look right through them
That's when they'll disappear
That's when we'll be feared ♪
At once, the young woman grabbed Remus' hips and hands, and made him sway around, making them both laugh hysterically. Remus mimicked a aristocratic lady by making a fan out of his hand, and stared into Agnes's eyes before pulling her to him, and they danced crazily, turning around endlessly at the rhythm of the song. It was truly liberating, and Agnes felt her heart the lighter it had been since a long time.
Remus brushed his hair out of his face, his forehead sweating from the dancing, and he put on the most beautiful smile Agnes had ever seen on him, she found him so pretty.
♪ Doesn't matter what they say
In the jealous games people play
Our lips are sealed ♪
May 8th, 1982
It was raining that day in Kettlewell, Agnes had woken up later than usual, having finished a book in the early hours of dawn. It was past noon when she finally got out of the shower to get some food. Remus wasn't working both today and tomorrow, leaving him some free time to enjoy himself outside of the pub. Agnes got the sudden idea to bake some cookies for her friend. He deserved a treat after the full shifts he had been through for the past two weeks. He was a hard-working person and most certainly a perfectionnist, making him work sometimes too hard.
Agnes put her preparation in the oven and cleaned her hand before starting to write a letter to Jeanne. Things were peaceful, and Remus seemed better than when she had seen him on her first day in Kettlewell. Outside, the rain was pouring hard, and she was happy staying home for the day.
She'd wait before sending her letter, not wanting the cottage owl to fly through a storm. It could wait.
An hour later, it was already the end of the afternoon and tea time was over. Agnes carefully packed the cookies she had made and apparated right in front of Remus' cottage. The house really needed to get some work done, as the paint on the white walls was cracking in the corner and the bricks on the floor were barely visible because of the weeds.
She knocked once on the door and waited. No one answered. It was weird. Remus had specified he spent most of his days off in his house, reading or just resting. Plus, the weather was too bad for him to have gone anywhere.
Agnes waited a little longer before knocking once more. Maybe he was in the shower? Or alseep.. But it was only 7 in the evening.. She decided to leave the plate with the cookies on the side and add a little note which she signed.
She decided to knock one last time, but since there was still no answer, she turned back and walked away. The young woman was about to apparate, but her eye caught a movement from inside the window. There WAS someone. Why wasn't Remus answering? Perhaps he was sick or something?
Suddenly getting worried, Agnes decided to call out for Remus, in case he needed her help.
- Remus! I know you're in there, is eveything ok? I'm just leaving a food plate by your door, I'll get on my way now.
At once, the window by the door opened, and the young wizard appeared, his forehead covered in sweat and his face paler than usual.
- Hey, Agnes. Pardon me, I- I didn't hear you. Thanks for the ..err. biscuits. Well, good night!
- Alright, Lupin?
- Y-Yes, Sorry I am just exhausted because of work, I'll sleep early today.
- Sure, let me know if you need anything, I'll be home. Agnes said in a smile, before waving to her friend and vanishing in the foggy rain.
She apparated in her own house. That interaction had been so strange. Remus looked extremely sick. He was not the kind to want to worry people around him and kept everything to himself. She had heard it from James once. It was something along the lines with "Remus has grown up with the will to solve his own problems, not realizing he might destroy himself in the process instead".
Her heart suddenly ached from thinking of her late friend. Her and Remus had not really talked much about the marauders since their altercation a few months prior. She respected his wish not to speak of it. The former Gryffindor was still processing the death of his best friends, and she could not do anything about it. But be there for him. That's what James and Lily would have told her to do. Be there for the people you love and you can count on. Make them feel they can count on you as well.
A few hours had passed since she had talked with Remus in front of his house. It was now past midnight and Agnes could not find sleep. She kept thinking of the marauders, of the past events, of the last christmas they had spent together, of the memories she shared with her friends and with the order, as well as with the Dunbars. She could not ignore the fact that she had gotten attached to each and every one of them, and they had become her home, her family.
Agnes left her bed and took her thick cardigan before vanishing from her bedroom. She wanted to check on him.
She arrived right in front of Remus' like earlier and checked for any light. Was he asleep yet? A tiny candle light was visible from inside the living room. Would she dare to knock? She did not want to wake him up in vain, but if he were sick, he might need to drink some medicinal potions. She carried a few in her hands, taken from her own collection.
The brown haired witch knocked slightly on the door. Suddenly, she heard a deep groan sound coming from inside the house.
Oh Bloody hell! It was not a human sound at all. She called Remus' name a few times, and when the only answers she got were animal growls, she decided to investigate. If a magical creature or any other wild animal had entered the cottage, her friend was in danger.
She apparated at once inside the house, and looked around for the origin of the sound.
There, a gigantic wolf was standing in front of her, trapped in a huge metallic cage in the middle of the living room. The creature looked strangely more human than canine, and Agnes had a hard time distinguishing what it was.
Thankfully, it did not seem to be able to get out of the cage. But how had this beast ended up trapped in there? Agnes tried to keep sight of the wolf while calling for Remus. If he was inside the house, perhaps he was the one who'd captured this creature.
But there was no answer, once again. Had he been harmed? Or worse, killed?? No, no, no, it was not the time to imagine the tragic scenarios.
Agnes came closer to the creature and managed to see its kind, thanks to a Lumos spell she used to get a better view in the dark of the room. Only a candle was placed near the sofa, maybe forgotten there by her friend.
- Can you understand our language? She asked.
The wolf looked up at her, his yellow eyes completely deprived from any sympathy. It looked as if about to jump and devour her. The beast growled and brutally threw its whole body onto the bars of the cage, wanting to escape from it to attack Agnes.
Thoughts were running through her mind, and she was trying to understand why such a beast was trapped in there, and where the bloody hell was Remus??!
At once, it was as if everything became clear. She stared at the wolf, who seemed to still want to kill her on the spot, and then glanced at the wand resting near the candle. Around her, everything furniture and object were in their right place and no sign of fight was visible.
It was as if the wolf had trapped himself in that cage. As if it knew what it was capable of.
A werewolf.
Bloody hell.
Agnes gasped in horror and looked at the creature under a complete new perspective. Could it be...
- Remus?.. Is that you? She tried to ask, not really believing what she was now seeing.
The werewolf was still very agitating, growling in all directions and scratching the bars in hunger. It was not human anymore. This creature had no longer access to his conscious thoughts.
She felt her heart beat even faster than it already was, and had to sit down, away from the beast. If it truly was her friend there in that cage, then how come she had never seen it? How come the boy she had met in Hogwarts a few years ago had been able to hide such secrets for so long without anyone knowing anything of it? But it was so clear now. All the time she had seen Remus in the hospital wing, injured with deep scratches, the scars on his face, the absence when near a full moon, his changes of mood, it explained everything.
Were the marauders aware of such secret? They must have been, after all, they were also animagus. Although it was a different range of a secret. She had always thought Remus was an animagus too, and had often wondered which animal he could turn into.
But now it all made sense. He was cursed, without having anything to say of it, he had to just go through with it, once a month.
Agnes felt so dizzy and needed to get out. She vanished at once, but missed her apparition and appeared in the middle of the pub, instead of at home. She tried again, and now she was in her little cottage, the fire still strong in the chimney.
What a night, she thought before spending the next few hours awake, thinking of how she'd face her friend the next day.