Renegade

“What the f–”

“Sirius!”

“I think the fact that we have a woman we aren't aware about in this house more pressing!”

“Why did the light go out!” 

“I am sorry!” and it was the last thing Lily heard before she saw her grandfather flicking his wand up and the light coming back. “I panicked!”

When the lights come back, she is pressed behind Albus and James, both of whom stand united in front of her with their wand's poised in front of them as shields. Albus wraps his left around her wrist in an urgent, icy grip that she is sure it would leave red marks in the morning. Tonks, Sirius, Molly and Remus all had their wands pointed at the door, their chairs scraped back hastily though Sirius's eyes still flickered between Albus and the door cautiously. She didn't like it one bit. 

Still, they watched in terror as the screams got closer and closer and mingled with another from the front of the house screaming about mudbloods and half breeds that nothing to calm them.The door to the dining room opened with a bang, as if the intruder had decided to come there first which made no sense...Well, no sense until in ran a girl of seventeen, though she looked years younger. Her curly ginger hair framed her face and fell to her waist, her mouth flopped open as she took them in and before James could push forward to stop the assault, Remus’s wand shot out a spell. 

In horror, they watched as the spell came closer and closer to hit Rose Weasley square in the chest and if she died, Lily thought in panic,…and if something happened…oh god's…but it was not to be so as Rose suddenly fell backwards with a yelp. Remus' spell whizzes past her to hit the door and she senses it before she sees it…Behind Rose, emerges a red face Hugo, in his hand a ball of magical energy which he fires straight towards Remus…who flies back into the wall with enough force to make a sound before he can grasp what's happened.

Somebody screams, wands are raised and before she can make sense of the situation, James is standing at the top of the table, sonorous on his breath, screaming a halt.

An hour later, when Remus opens his eyes, he feels like he has ascended to heaven as he wakes up to Tonks’ soft hands on his face tracing his scars and her deep blue eyes lighting up as she takes him in. Remus has never felt this much joy at being alive as Tonks' has in her face when he wakes up to her. Dora is a beautiful woman. In the warm candlelight, she doesn't look so. But her pale, rather heavy heart shaped face made her look especially young. Her hair, which changed colors with her mood, reminded him of his favorite children's story and her warm disposition had him feeling like he was standing directly under sunlight. It makes him feel alive.

But his happy recollections are thoroughly shattered when Snape’s face comes into focus on the other side and he is momentarily thrown…not that he is saying Severus is ugly…but…

“He looks delirious,” Snape frowns, peering at him. “What spell was it?”

Another unfamiliar voice answers, as if reading from a note, “it’s just a stronger stupefy…nothing else.”

“Huh…and you shot it out of your…hands?”

“Yes, he did.”

Snape looked at his face before leaving a disgruntled ‘impressive’ which Remus knows to be a compliment for whoever hit him. Severus' praise is limited and he is a man of few words. Being on the end of that very impressive spell, he does not feel good about it.

“Alright,” a second later, Tonks is replaced by Sirius who glares at Snape with contempt. “Fix him now. Do your job.”

The former death eater’s eye twitches as he draws his wand, Remus wants to get up to remind Sirius not piss off his healers and waiters...”sitting at home…comparing wands…must be nice.”

Sirius bares his teeth like a dog but before he can bark like one, he is pulled back and once again, replaced, with Molly which lowers his blood pressure a few pints. “Severus, do you think he is fine?”

“It's a stunner only…” Snape says, lighting his wand. “Though a hard one.”

“He should be fine then?”

“Yes,” Remus replies, drawing both sets of his eyes towards him. “Though I do feel like a whale is lounging on my chest.”

“That's common with Hugo’s…”

“oh, Is it?” He hears Sirius sarcastically bark and whoever the first person was. 

“Hey! He fired first.”

“Because you came down screaming–”

“What was I supposed to do? Dance in ecstasy in front of huge bird you have stashed upstairs!”

“You kids,” He heard Sirius say, painfully calm. “need to sit down before the last thread of my patience dies down with the stupefy you hit with.”

There is silence for a minute and maybe Sirius has finally learned to rear children when he hears,” Mr. Lupin is your patience? Damn, you need therapy–”

“Rose.”

“But sure, whatever. Hugh? You got something here?”

“Um…” Remus mutters, holding out a hand. “Help me up.”

Snape and Molly haul him up and he takes a look around. It leaves him hanging. Arthur is sitting by the far table with Lily and a small, frail boy who looks suspiciously like Ron nursing a cup. Tonks is standing beside his legs twitching. Sirius is glaring at the redhead who came in screaming and who seems to be infinitely bored if her face is go by. Co-incidentally, the middle Potter child is also glaring at the redhead and James, the eldest potter, is sighing sufferingly as he wakes up.

“Hi…”

“Hugo is Sorry about that, Mr. Lupin. He didn't…realise,” the redhead mutters seeing him up gesturing at the boy on the table who nods twice at him. 

“He can't speak for himself?” Snape asks, a scowl twisting his features. “Too much to apologise?”

“He is deaf and mute,” the fierce reply comes from Albus who looks supremely pissed for some reason. “Asshole.”

Snape moves without thinking, his hatred for Harry shining in his eyes, no doubt joining with the image of this Albus potter who looked entirely too much like Harry. His brother though, in a move his namesake would never, moves in front of his younger brother, pushes him back and holds out a hand. “I am sorry for his outburst. Forgive him.”

Snape looks at the boy for a whole minute. James Potter looks nothing like his namesake and not because he looks nothing like him. But the way his brown eyes soften, could never match James’s bright, sharp gaze ready to unfurl at a moments notice. The way he display’s humility would’vd embarrassed both of his namesake’s and Remus is sure, if his friend ever came alive, would promptly dig his own grave because there’s a lot of things James believed in and backing out of a fight was not one of them. Certainly not with Severus. It's not something he is proud of, Remus thinks, he should have put a stop to this rivalry then and there. But he was sixteen and stupid, more so than others as he had thought himself mature then. 

This one though, and Remus can't help but notice and he is sure, it hasn't escaped Sirius. This one has something. He has been seeing this since the boy entered…he stands up for his siblings, they listen to him as if they respect him more than anything else…and he has not once raised his voice. He resolves conflict without raising a wand and he can even see the other boy get antsy, itching to throw hands but this one maintains equilibrium. James would’ve found him boring…but Remus can see where his parents went right and he is sure Severus can too. 

Because he backs off with an upturned lip, but he does regardless. “Lupin is fine. Give him some sleeping drought tonight. Meeting at 8 today.”

With that, Snape sweeps out the room, his dark robes bellowing behind him.

Vaguely, Remus wonders, what does Severus even do on vacations. He tried to picture Severus on a beach, with girls around him in a club and the image is so ridiculous he is jolted back to reality where everyone is waiting for him to say something. 

“So?” Remus coughs, “what did I miss?”

“You are Ron’s kids?”

“Yep.”

“Oh, nice.”

“So you are a Remus Lupin?”

“...yes?”

“You are not sure?”

“Yes, I am…”

“Oh, nice.”

Sirius goes back and forth between Remus who is holding his head and nursing the headache he has been dealt with and the perpetrator who sits opposite gobbling up food from his house. Both of them stare each other with a casual curiosity and it annoys Sirius to no end. 

“You are Sirius Black,” she turns to him suddenly, her face set in an expression quite familiar on Hermione’s face. It's jarring.

“Yes,” he mutters.

“Nice.”

A vein threatens to pop at this moment. This is the fifth time she has referred to something as nice. Maybe he is mistaken. Maybe she is not Hermione's kid. Maybe Ron married some random girl with dung for brains. Gravely, he replies,” yes. Very nice.”

“So…” she drawls turning back to James who sits beside her, head on the table, as if he has given up on life. “You ready to talk, Jaime?”

James mutters a response which gets muffled by his face against the table but it sounds vaguely like curses. Rose sighs, turning back to Remus. “Men are so dramatic.”

Remus who seems startled at being addressed so casually nods slowly as if unsure which makes Rose sigh again. She turns to him this time. “So…uhm…how are you? I hear you…recently escaped from Azkaban or some shit?”

This time, it's Sirius who is stumped. “...yes?”

“Damn girl!,” Rose nods, approvingly. “Slay!”

“... what?”

“I mean, my boujee ass could never even survive that,” Rose points towards herself then looks at him. “But I gotta respect the hustle here.”

“... what?”

“And you Mr. Lupin, I hear you howl sometimes?”

“...yes…”

“That sounds absolutely bitchin’,” Rose mutters curiously. “I wish I could turn into a wolf. Not that I don't understand all the trauma, pain etc,” She clarifies,” but lowkey, I think I would like to trample around the forest at night without wondering what sleaze is following me.”

“...okay.”

“So, now that we are at it. What house were you in when you were into Hogwarts?”

Lupin, who he is sure just like him is having a whiplash from the conversation, blinks thrice. “Gryffindor…”

“Oh, cool, and do you know your wand core?”

“...no?”

“Damn…star sign?”

“No…”

“birth d–”

“Okay,” James slams a hand on the table startling both him and Lupin. Rose on the other hand remains seated quietly, unfazed, sipping from her glass. “That's enough.”

“Sure,” the redhead replies sweetly when James turns to her, ”whatever you say, Jaime.”

‘Jaime’s’ eyebrow twitches as he starts,” Rose, I swear to god–”

“Blerghhh.”

“Rose,” James said, almost painfully. “Did you break a time Turner and then follow us here?”

“Wait, what?” Sirius asked, jolted. “You kids deliberately broke one?”

“No,” both of them replied in unison.

“And that's a heavy accusation,” Rose scowled and turned to James. “You think I’d do that?”

James only takes a second before replying,” yes.”

Rose scowls, her blue eyes burn like fire before she sighs, ”alright. Okay! It's in character for me I guess–”

“What–”

“But I would not have bought Hugo with me had I done so!” she mutters, turning back to James to pinch his cheek who slaps her hand away. “So that's very hurtful of you.”

“Sorry.”

“Aw, it's okay, Jaime,” the redhead replies slinging an arm around the said guy and pulling him close to smack a kiss on his cheek. “I love you too.”

“Yeah, whatever,” the eldest Potter says wiping his cheek and getting up. “I am going upstairs to…contemplate, don't make trouble.” Then, taking a second look at Rose, he turns to them. “Don't give her information. Any information and if you do, it's not on me.”

That leaves both him and Remus baffled. What could this one kid do to two of them anyway? She hardly looked her age. Sirius scoffed and leaned forward, he was sick and tired. All these people going bump in his house. Him not being able to leave this hell. Severus being a pain. It was killing him. Dumbledore said he was gonna obliviate them, wasn't he?

“He didn't say you can't give us information.”

Rose turns to him and smiles mischievously and for the first time, Sirius has no doubt this is Hermione's kid,” now we are getting somewhere.”

“You aren't scared of that big brother of yours?”

She snorts at the way he refers to James and raises an eyebrow challengingly. “I am not Albus.”

“Albus.”

After the third rap on the door that goes without response, James sighs and raises his wand to the lock. “Alohamora. I am coming in.”

Again, no response comes from the other side of the door and James feels the tediousness as he opens the door and finds Albus smoking a cigarette by the window…god knows how he got his hands on it. His face is turned towards the window but James can sense the forbidding scowl on his face before he even comes up to snatch the cigarette and burn it out under his shoe. “We talked about this.”

Albus’ face pinches painfully as if he’s trying to close his mouth forcefully from giving a reply about exactly what he would like to talk about. His ears turn a burning shade of red when he turns around to fall back into the bed with a thump. “That was before Rose.”

“I will be here. She won't bother you, you know that right?”

He gets no replies for it. Albus only stares at the ceiling with an expression akin to someone who has been told that they are to be executed on the morrow. He supposed it is warranted. Albus and Rose used to be best friends before Hogwarts. The amount of things they used to do together couldn't fit a list. Infact, James had been hard pressed to find his brother alone when they were young. It was always him and Rosie against the world.

Until Hogwarts, until Albus' sorting. That's when it went downhill. Or maybe way after that. He doesn't know. Asking Albus about it is like pulling teeth. Asking Rose about it is an insult to Albus who will take it as a personal offense no matter what. All he knows here is that there is conflict and it's the sort of conflict that has both of them at each other's throats. If Rose is present at a function, Albus would drop out. If someone is friends with Rose, Albus would drop them. Rose pretends like she doesn't even notice it but James sees her sitting by the window’s all alone in melancholy whenever they are forced into a room. Rose still wants to be friends but she has an ego the size of Albus’s head and will not take the first step. On the other hand…James is not sure Albus even wants to do that. Many times their parents have tried to intervene. Because it's causing a mess with the family but both of them refuse to even acknowledge each other or that they have a problem.

“Al…”

“I know. I know. I won't make a ruckus. I am sleeping here peacefully, aren't I?”

“Yes…” James trails off running a hand through his hair and missing his mum. She has the most success in rousing Al from his spontaneous bouts of emo “Albus…if there's anything that bothers you too much…talk to me about it okay?”

“Okay.”

James sighs, he is sure Albus hadn't even heard that,” I am going to see Lily now. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Tonks watches the small boy making all sorts of signs with his hand while Lily makes the same one back but also uses her face to convey. This is the strangest conversation she has seen and she has seen Sirius and Snape agree on something the other day in the meeting. She has been giving the task of showing the young ones to another room as they are too crowded now to share one room.

Both Remus and Sirius are holding down the fort downstairs while Molly and Arthur have gone back to the burrow to restrain their kids lest they jump in this crockpot of crazy.

“Are we okay?” She asks cautiously opening a door to a room that they have been keeping clean to house Hermione and Ginny when they arrive.

It's Lily who answers, not that she had expected the other one to, “yep. We are good.”

Lily grins as she walks into the room while Hugo scrunches his nose looking left to right. Tonks smiles as she watches him. He was pretty impressive, as Snape had said. She was hard pressed to agree on anything with Snape, the man was disgusting, but she couldn't quite deny it. Wandless magic with such precision is practically a feat especially at this age when their Magic is all wonky.

“Do you like the room?” Tonks asks before she can stop herself. 

Hugo who was till now looking at their surrounding as if he would like scrub it clean turns to her and stares. He has vivid blue eyes, a Weasley signature but unlike the warm blue of Arthur, Hugo’s eye make her feel like ants are crawling up her spine. She blinks. He doesn't. It unnerves her for no reason.

“Hugo,” Lily says softly before coming up to his side and grabbing his hand. “Stop staring.”

“Ugh, it's fine–”

“He is sorry about that–”

“It's okay!” Tonks mutters hurriedly, it's not like she is exponentially offended. She gets it. She would stare too if she traveled back in time and random ass people were showing her into rooms and telling her a mass murderer might be after her. 

Hugo moves his hand in a gentle away as he looks at her from Lily and the little Potter kid nods hesitantly while side-eying her. She is sure Hugo has said something he was explicitly told not to but she doesn't know sign language any more than she does mermish. God's, she was curious now.

Hugo, once again frowns before looking away, as if shrugging off his curiosity as long as she was in the room. No doubt warned by the cautious expression his cousin was wearing. Tonks doesn't have to guess what will they talk about when she leaves two minutes later and she can't even use extended ears to find out what.

It makes her curious though. Does she have kids in the future? The Potter kids had definitely claimed up in the morning. Is she married? To who? Is she so old and ugly looking that these kids are shocked to see her? She hopes not. 

Sighing and eyeing the door curiously, Nymphadora makes her way down the stairs wondering if the others had any more luck than her.

Ginny walked through the ministry atrium, cloak billowing behind her, enchantments on her tongue. As soon as she spotted the entrance, felt the heads turning in her direction, she knew Harry had been notified. She hastened her pace. No doubt her husband would have cleared his office by now under the foolhardy assumption that she would not question why she could not connect with her children. Why had Harry spent nights at the ministry from the past few days and most certainly not, why he was popping anti anxiety pills like mints.

Maddening, her whole family. From a very young age she has always been protected. Always pushed behind someone with the excuse that she was too young despite time and again proving that she could handle herself if the situation arises. But she had grown lax about it with age. She had accepted that she would forever be the youngest sister. To be protected, babied with an inch of her life. Forever married to the guy with an insane hero complex. It was why she had raised her children with such convictions, especially Lily. Her daughter knew how to throw a punch and her son's knew not to infringe on her right to protect herself how she wanted to. Not that it had stopped them from standing in front of her but at least they were quick to move and recognise her agency. She would think her husband would recognise the same and let her have some agency over the wellbeing of her fucking children.

But look, here she was, years later, running amok with bits and pieces scrapped from a wailing Fleur who she had accidentally visited to get the croissants her mum had bought over from France. She couldn't believe. Children lost in time. Husband hiding things from her. Her family helping out. What else she didn't know? Harry had a second wife? Her son was Voldemort? 

Angrily she blinked as the staircase leading to the auror office came into view and belatedly, she was happy to see Draco discreetly making his way past Harry’s office. If she needed any more confirmation, this was it. No way her husband and the Malfoy heir would get together for any other reason unless it was life threatening. And threaten his life, she will! She kept an eye out though lest someone (Dominique) stands in her way. But to her surprise, no one does. They only scatter further and further away. It's confusing and it leaves a sour taste in her mouth. 

Still, she reaches the door and opens it with a bang loud enough that it echoes like a gong even in the crowded and loud Auror division. She expects Harry to furrow his brows like he usually does when she gets angry. She expects to him stand up, defend herself, tell her the plan. She expects him to be in serious fucking trouble with her. 

But when she enters, all she sees is Hermione in the middle of some enchantment or perhaps dark magic, she is not sure and Ron clutching the hair on his head to an inch. But all of that does not do her. What does her is Harry floating unnaturally in the middle of the room, his hair a bird’s nest, his face hollow of any emotion. Lifeless and unresponsive, Harry does not stir at her arrival and it's a testament to the situation that nor do the other two. And before she can realise it, he spins or maybe she does…she is not sure…but soon darkness takes over, a loud scream is making way up her throat and she knows no more.