Remus Lupin VIII
Horcruxes
Blood rituals
His life had become a mess ever since he gathered his bravery and walked in to Nr 4 Privet Drive.
Some part of him wanted to regret it.
Some part that was very deeply buried and that he was ashamed of having. It was proof of how different he was to James and Sirius. He and Peter had been the same when it came to such things, they both liked safety and stability. Peter had let himself be guided by that and Remus could in some ways understand why he had decided to choose the other side, Voldemort had been strong and the consequences of going against the recent Dark lord was grave. Remus had almost let himself be guided by his own urge of self-preservation, he had almost left Little Whinging that day and it was only his loyalty to James that had made him go against Dumbledore’s wishes, wishes the old man had tried to employ by compulsions.
No.
Remus didn’t regret his choices, doing that would be to regret getting Harry help and thus leaving him to his fate in the hands of abusive muggles, a horcrux in his scare and a protection that may or may not have hurt him despite its intentions to keep him safe.
Remus could never regret that.
But he could wallow in his misery of being thrown into a situation too complex for someone like him. He had thought about taking Harry in the middle of the night and leave the country, the madness of British isles could surely not reach them in the States. The American wizards was prideful, and the country was a powerhouse. A resurrected Dark lord would surely have a hard time to reach someone wandering the American shores.
The problem was the funds, and the hindrance that was Sirius Black.
His friend would never leave, he would fight to his death just like James had done. They were stubborn Gryffindors. And even if Sirius would agree to flee then the even greater problem would be the Lord Black, the old man sees Harry as his house’s future and would sooner kill both Remus and Sirius than to let the boy slip through his fingers.
“When do you think you’re done with your brooding?”
Remus looked up at Sirius from his place on the armchair.
“I don’t brood”
Sirius snorted. “The only one who could beat you at brooding was Prongs”
Remus scowled. James Potter’s temper had been legendary after seven years of sharing the same dorm. The werewolf didn’t bother to answer.
“I want to leave the country” Remus said with a stony face.
Sirius frowned. “You want to l-leave us?”
Remus softened at his lover’s little stammer. The grey eyed man tried to stand tall in indifference, but it was obvious that his words had affected him. “No, I want us to leave. The three of us”
Sirius just stared, his eyebrows furrowing deep in thought. “You want us to leave Britain?”
Remus sighed. “I don’t see what else we can do. Dealing with death eaters lurking about is one thing but facing the risk of exposing Harry to a resurrected dark lord is quite another. Let’s not forget the headmaster and his nefarious intentions with a toddler”
Harry James Potter.
It all came down to the little dark-haired boy with glowing green eyes.
Remus had worried about him since the moment he learned of his parent’s demise, that worry had only grown as he nurtured his cub. Sirius Black would without give his life for Harry if the occasion arose, the grim would die for the ones he loved just like James Potter had. James and Sirius were two sides of the same coin and there had been a time during Remus formative years that the werewolf had been jealous of their bond.
Remus Lupin would die for the boy too, no questions asked. But Remus wasn’t as hot-headed as his friends, he didn’t feel the same fury and obsessive sense of protection that they mustered.
He instead worried, he had perfected the art of worrying.
That worry would always choose one aspect of his life, it had many years been his lycanthropy. It had then shifted to the threat that was the war, he worried about his friends – his pack. It almost died out, leaving only Sirius and Harry. It was now his cub that instilled the sense of dread regarding the endless risks that existed.
And Harry James Potter was a magnet for trouble, Remus shivered at the thought of what a teenage Harry could do.
“It wouldn’t matter, the maniac would find us if he returned. He would be forced to; his followers fear him, and he will have to kill the boy who is muting that fear by simply being alive”
Remus closed his eyes. He already knew that. He just didn’t want to believe it.
“I’m scared padfoot, he’s been through enough already”
Strong arms encased him, and Remus let himself melt into the embrace. He could feel Sirius hot breath against his neck and closed his eyes.
“We’ll keep him safe”
Remus hoped that they could.
“We will have to prepare ourselves padfoot” Remus said, the house had impregnable wards that would take hours to break down. The only thing more secure would be a fidelius charm but they could trust only themselves with such a secret.
They had a good tutor in Cassiopeia Black despite her being a bit too intense for Remus liking, he couldn’t understand how she could feel it appropriate to test a toddler the way she has been doing. Harry may be magically powerful and the heir of two houses, but he is still a child.
Remus and Sirius themselves would have to keep themselves battle-ready, they couldn’t slack off.
He would also have to speak with Sirius about asking Arcturus about some emergency portkeys, acquiring such objects would be highly illegal as they couldn’t let the ministry know the destination of the portkeys.
Things would hopefully be relatively safe until it’s time for Harry to attend school, he wondered how they would solve that one. He had gathered from both Sirius and his grandfather that the Blacks and the French don’t get along. Something highly ironic considering their family motto – Toujours pur.
Durmstrang was the best option at the moment, but Remus didn’t like the school’s reputation. Remus had spoken about Ilvermorny with Sirius, but the man had rejected that idea immediately, letting a British heir attend the American school would be a political suicide for Harry. The relationship between the British ministry and the American one wasn’t the best.
Sirius had admitted that not attending Hogwarts would negatively impact Harry as he would lose the chance to build connections in his homeland. Remus had wanted to argue that politics didn’t matter when faced with safety of their ward, but Remus wasn’t stupid enough to believe that Sirius truly cared about Harry’s place in wizengamot.
This conflict with Voldemort and his followers was one that would be heavily influence by the people in power and having Harry take his place in the wizarding world with two houses backing him could make quite the difference. Closing off such position off power would be foolish. Lucius Malfoy had already started to climb the ladder after having gotten off the hook for being a death eater, letting wizards like Malfoy rule the political field without opposition would be disastrous.
“Everything will be alright Moony. We always find a way” Sirius said with a small smile. Remus put his hand on the grey-eyed man’s cheek. He knew that the animagus doubted his own words, it wasn’t like Sirius to be this optimistic. Sirius Black was a crude, sharp and handsome man that burned brighter than the star he was named after. Remus had always had a hard time not watching him, for how could one ignore something so bright and beautiful?
Remus leaned forward and was not surprised when he felt the other man’s lips on his own. They were soft and pliant at first, caressing, it soon changed as the Remus tugged at the man’s black hair.
Sirius groaned before his lips grew more demanding, his body pressed against Remus and the werewolf could feel hands travelling the length of his body.
Remus buried his worry and let himself be guided by the only star that mattered in the sky.
His beloved Sirius.