Remus Lupin I
Remus clenched his jaw to stop himself from growling at his own stupidity. He was yet again disturbing the rather peaceful neighbourhood that was Little whinging. It was his third time coming here and he knew that it would end in the same way that every other visit had. With him leaving with his tail tucked between his legs. Remus felt like a disappointment to the Gryffindor house.
He should have accepted the hat's offer of joining the Ravenclaws, but the eleven year old Remus Lupin wanted to be brave and there was a time when Remus actually believed that he had succeeded in becoming brave. But he knew now that it was Moony with the marauders who embraced everything head on, a Moony without his friends was nothing. Remus Lupin was nothing.
It had been five months since that damned night where everything fell apart. He had to learn from the daily prophet how his whole pack was decimated. That the only ones remaining was the traitor and the little cub. It had taken a week for Remus to come to terms with Sirius betrayal, he had not seen it coming - none of them had. Sirius Black was Gryffindor through and through, the godfather that James had chosen and the man whom Remus had always longed after. But the point was moot now. He had destroyed it all completely, he had destroyed Harry’s family and that was something Remus could never forgive. He had always known that Sirius could be as vicious as the rest of the Black's, the incident with snape was proof of that. It was the reason behind why Remus had decided to distance himself from the other marauder after Hogwarts. He hadn’t been able to forget about the betrayal.
Remus had contacted Dumbledore regarding Harry, he longed for the little cub whom James had adored more than anything. He remembered the tears Prongs had felled when he presented the little bundle to the rest of the marauders. The little miracle that was Harry James Potter melted all their hearts that day and they all swore to protect him no matter what. James and Lily died for their son and Remus knew that he had to make sure that he was well taken care of. But Dumbledore had denied him. He had explained that Harry was safe and sound, that it would be best if Remus stayed away until the boy could understand the risks of associating with him. Remus heart had broken at his old headmaster's words. He had not forgotten about his lycanthropy; he was reminded every month of his curse.
Remus had almost given in to the other man's explanations of how the werewolf would endanger the boy and that he would be happier without a constant reminder of his parent's departure. The werewolf found faults at the reasonings but had still felt his resolve faltering as the old feelings of worthlessness resurfaced. Remus remembered how he had opened his mouth to accept what the man said when he felt something wash over him.
The feeling of a strong compulsion. Remus had barely managed to agree with the man before quickly getting home, trying to furiously shake of the magic trying to warp itself around his mind. It was the headmaster's little spell that drove Remus to trying to find Harry, he felt uneasy knowing that the old man was ready to use illegal mind spells on him to make him stay away from the cub.
Remus let out a sigh before taking a step towards Privet Drive. He had not spent two months trying to find Harry only to let it all go now. He had chickened out the other times, but he would not do so this time. It wasn't like he would disturb his cub, no, he was only going to check in on him while being disillusioned. He only wanted to make sure that the boy was alright, James would have wanted him to make sure that his son was safe.
Remus walked down Privet Drive while being unseen by its inhabitants. He soon reached number four; the house was identical to the others. He drew his hand in a circular motion, trying to feel out the ward that must have been placed on property only to feel nothing. He repeated the motion and let his own magic out to feel out what must be well hidden wards.
Nothing.
No wards, there was no wards at all. Remus frowned and wondered for a second if he had made a mistake. But He trusted his capabilities enough to know that number 4 private drive had nothing protecting its residents so that means that he must have reached the wrong conclusion about the boy's placement.
It had taken embarrassingly long time to realize that Dumbledore must have placed Harry with Lily's sister. No one else in the magical world had the boy so it made sense that he had been hidden in the muggle one. It had then taken some work to figure out where Petunia Evans lived. It was thanks to knowing where Lily's parents had lived before their death and then discretely asking about Petunia that he managed to learn about her nuptials. Lily had not spoken much about her sister and Remus had never felt that it was his place to ask about the clear rift between the two sisters.
Without wasting anymore time he strode towards the house. He felt himself buzz with nervousness, he used a wordless alohomora to unlock the door and silently stepping into the house. He let out his breath when he saw that the hallway was empty. Remus let his eyes travel around his surroundings while sniffing the air. He was unsure if he would recognize Harry's scent but something in him told him that he would. There was a faint smell of something familiar, but it was overpowered by the distinct smell of blood. Remus frowned; the house smelled of a lot of blood. Too much to be normal. He let himself be led by his nose before stopping at ha small door under the stairs. He felt even more confused as he realized that the copper smell seemed to be originating from whatever was behind the door.
Remus unlocked the door before carefully opening it. It was a cupboard. The scent of blood overwhelmed his senses, it was much too fresh, as it was dripping from a wound. He almost missed the figure pushed against the wall, it breathed so quietly and sat unnaturally still. Remus blinked before focusing on it. The only thing he could make out was dark hair.
The cold realisation hit him a second later, his chest tightened, and it was suddenly hard to breath.
He felt sick.
"Harry?" His voice was thick with unshed tears, barely audible. But the little boy recognized his own name, big green eyes looked up towards Remus. The fear and apprehension in them broke Remus heart into bits.
"Harry, it's uncle Moony" The boy simply blinked, the seventeen-month-old toddler was still unnaturally still. Remus took a wary step into the cupboard and bent down; his actions were met by a whimper from the toddler. Remus bit his cheek before reaching out, ignoring the way his friend's child seemed to want to disappear into the wall behind him.
He grabbed the toddler and hugged him against him, the lack of struggle despite his clear fear made Remus want to kill the ones responsible for his cub’s pain. Remus backed out of the cupboard, he let his magic out against the toddler in his arms. It caressed the child as it tried to decide where the smell of blood came from. Remus breath caught as he felt too much wrong, he wasn't a healer, but he knew that the child's wounds were bad - too bad. Not delaying himself anymore, he closed his eyes and apparated away from four private drive. Holding James Potter's son against his chest.