Chapter Twenty
Remus was confident that Harry, Hermione and Ron would want to be involved with their plan. But it was Ron’s older brothers he wrote to first. They reminded him of Sirius, back in the day. They could talk their way out of anything, and had this magnetism that drew in everyone around them. If they were leading the rally, he was sure everyone else would follow. He just hoped Molly would forgive him for involving them.
“We just have to show them that Hagrid is not the threat to Hogwarts this Skeeter idiot is claiming him to be.” Replied Eloise.
“Tell me about it. A fourteen year old can enter a tournament that could kill him, but Hagrid, the gentlest man alive, is a threat to children’s safety?”
“How is Harry doing?” Asked Eloise, frowning.
“I don’t know. He sounds… ok from his letters. But I haven’t been able to see him in months.”
“That must be hard.” Eloise placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah.” Remus’s voice wavered slightly. He felt Sirius’s eyes on him from across the room and tried to hold his feelings down with a gulp of Firewhisky. The truth was, he missed Harry. And he was scared for him. It was hard, not being a teacher anymore. He’d taken it for granted, being able to see Harry everyday, to watch him learn and grow and enjoy all the tiny mundane grievances of being a teenager. He hated the idea of Harry out there alone, risking his life, and for something so stupid.
“It was a mistake, coming here, wasn’t it? I just thought… maybe there was something I could do? I feel so bloody useless right now.”
“Actually, there is one thing.” Eloise smiled. “I’ve been making some changes to your syllabus. I want to do a law module.”
As she explained her plans, Remus looked at her in awe. This idea, it was amazing. Training up a new generation of activists, people who had directly been affected by laws and empowering them to make a difference themselves. It was brilliant, and he cursed himself for not having thought of it himself. He was glad he’d given up his role, clearly Eloise was much better suited to it than he’d ever been
“Remus?” He realised Eloise was expecting an answer from him. His mind had drifted.
“I’m sorry, what are you asking me?”
“Well… to write it of course. You’ve had the most experience at the end of the Ministry’s laws, and the most experience with lesson planning. And before you say no - I’m not asking you to teach it, just to write it. So you can do it from whatever cave you’re hiding in, and just drop it off to me whenever you’re done.”
Remus considered for a moment, cycling rapidly through feelings of excitement and uncertainty. Slightly overwhelmed, he turned to Sirius. “Pads?”
“I think you should do it, Moony.” He replied straight away. “We could do with the money - for food.”
Remus couldn’t help smiling. Sirius’s single mindedness came in useful sometimes.
Tonks laughed, and Eloise conjured up two bowls of food from the kitchen. “This was going to be for us, but I think your need is greater than ours.”
Remus looked down at the carefully prepared dish, and noticed for the first time that Eloise’s flat was unusually tidy, and that there were several candles dotted around the room. Mood lighting. “Sorry, are we… interrupting something?”
Eloise blushed, but Tonks was unabashed. “A date, actually.” she replied. “But it’s fine, we can go out for dinner. Leave you two to eat here, and maybe take a bath or something.” She looked knowingly between the two of them, a smirk on her lips. It was that moment that Remus decided they were going to be friends.
“Er… Tonks?” Sirius suddenly spoke out, sounding uncharacteristically shy. “I just… wanted to say thanks. For not believing what the Ministry said about me.”
Tonks smiled, her hair sprouting pink streaks as she did so. “Mum never believed it, either. You should send her a message, sometime.”
“Er, alright. I will.” Sirius stared down at his shoes.
“Alright then” She said, and pulled Eloise by the hand, leading her out of the flat. “See you in a couple of hours!” She called, and then they were gone.
Sirius wolfed down his portion of the unexpected dinner, and eyed Remus’s up. “Take it.” said Remus. “I’m going to shower.”
When he returned to the lounge, Sirius was brooding over the newspaper again. “13 years I was away. When I escaped, part of me hoped I’d escape into a better world. I wanted to believe it was a better world for you, now.”
He wasn’t sure whether it was the prospect of having a new project, seeing an old friend, or just the comfort of his first shower in weeks, but Remus had started to feel more positive over the last hour.
“Things are changing.” He said. “I can teach werewolves now! People are getting a second chance at an education. That means something. It has to.”
*
Remus woke to the sound of the door opening, and Tonks swearing as she stubbed her toe in the dark. They’d planned on leaving as soon as they’d eaten, but exhaustion had overcome them and they’d fallen asleep on the sofa.
“Sorry, El, we’ll get out of your hair -” He began, trying to get up without disturbing Sirius, who was still completely out of it, his head heavy on Remus’s thigh.
Eloise took one look at them and said “Not a chance. You’re staying here tonight.” In one smooth movement with her wand, she draped a blanket over each of them.
“I don’t want to put you at risk - with Sirius”
“I’ll just say I got a dog” said Eloise, and Tonks snorted with laughter. It was clear they’d spent the last couple of hours getting pissed. “Besides, you’re already here.”
Remus looked down at Sirius. It was the first time he’d fallen asleep on Remus, and while logic told him they should get out of there, Sirius’s face was so peaceful, and his breath tickled Remus’s knee, and he knew he was going nowhere tonight.
Eloise watched him come to his decision, and raised her eyebrows. “Goodnight, love”
Remus shifted a little, trying to lie down properly without waking Sirius up. Sirius mumbled something, and shuffled up, bringing his head to Remus’s shoulder. Remus stroked his hair, listening to Eloise and Tonks on the other side of the wall, whispering and giggling. It reminded him of the dorms at Hogwarts, and made him feel sad.
When he woke up, the others were all having breakfast already. Eloise had her feet on Tonks’ lap, and Sirius was sat cross legged on the floor, commanding Tonks to perform a series of disguises.
“Ok, try… how about the Minister of Magic if he was a Hufflepuff? What about a Quibbler reader who’s never travelled outside of Hogsmeade? Can you do animals too? Can you do a bat, and fly?”
Tonks acquiesced with each suggestion, falling short of a bat but managing to create a disturbing likeness with large tufted ears and pointed teeth.
“Well, that’s fit.” Commented Eloise.
Remus took his place in a comfortable looking armchair, realising as he did that Sirius must have left it empty for him. Without breaking the conversation, Sirius passed him up a cup of tea. They all knew Remus was shy in group situations, and he let the chatter wash over him, content just to listen. In another world, this could have been their real lives.
As they prepared to leave London, Sirius suddenly spoke up. “We should see Harry.”
Remus raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I know you miss him. I think it would make him feel more safe to see you, too.” Sirius coughed awkwardly. “Besides, I need to tell him about Crouch. I’m ready to talk about it.”
Remus knew this was a difficult subject for Sirius. He opened his mouth to object, but noted the fire in his eyes and knew he wouldn’t change his mind. So he nodded. “Ok.”
Their success of evading Ministry officials had filled them with confidence, and they both felt certain they could get away with more. They decided to head to Hogsmeade, and Sirius wrote to Harry, arranging to meet him.