Warriors

Once Ginny had returned with Molly and Tonks in tow the new arrivals were ushered downstairs and into the kitchen almost right away. The kids - like always - were told to stay behind and occupy themselves with something. And they really tried to. The Weasley children returned to their game and Hermione suggested that she and Harry could do some of their homework. Most of their teachers - or past teachers in Remus’s case - were at the house at the moment and Hermione wanted to make sure she didn’t have questions to them about the summer homework before they left. Harry was all too happy for the distraction, still not being able to place the feeling of the arrival of the ten strangers awoken inside of him. To his surprise though, it was Hermione who couldn’t focus on their school work.

“Who were those people?” She asked from the room in general, shutting the book she was trying to read. She got shrugs from most people in the room.

“I don’t know, but I feel like I know them somehow. I didn’t get a chance to look at them more in detail but they just seem so similar!” Harry voiced his thoughts finally.

“Thank Merlin I thought I was going crazy! I have no idea who they are but it feels like I should!” She said after a long, relieved sigh.

“Exactly! But it’s not like a bad feeling but also not a pleasant one!” He explained and Hermione enthusiastically nodded. “And the air in the room was like back in third year when we used a time turner before they arrived!”

“Yes, it absolutely was! Do you think they came here with one?” She asked, sitting closer to Harry.

“I don’t think I saw one on either of them.” He said, pulling up the image of the strangers.

“Hmm yeah me neither.” Hermione agreed. She was already deep in thought, trying to come up with an explanation.

“I have no idea what you guys mean by any of that.” Ron said, staring at the pair of them.

“Yeah me neither. Are you guys feeling alright?” Ginny asked, frowning at them with worry.

“Did you guys seriously not register any of that?” Hermione looked at them with wide eyes. Were she and Harry going crazy?

The Weasleys all shook their heads, however before they could further discuss the matter the door burst open to the sitting room making the alarm placed by Remus go off. Sirius stopped it with a wave of his wand and went inside the room taking a seat next to his godson. The children were used to having Sirius there with them. The man often got fed up with the other adults - mostly Molly - and went to join them instead. The first time it happened was when he and Remus had just had an argument and Sirius wanted company far away from him. He went to sit with the children and that was the day they found out that Sirius and Remus are in a relationship. Still to this day they are the only ones in the house that know, all of them remembering all too well the last time Charlie visited them and came out to his mother. Let’s just say, He hasn’t visited since then. The kids sent him a letter saying how brave he was, and that Molly was sure to come around eventually but that’s about all they could do.

Sirius was like an open book - especially to Harry - and the kids always knew why he decided to go sit with them. However, this time, he had an unreadable expression on his face, and no one was sure how to deal with the situation.

Before they could figure anything out Remus stormed in, in a similar way to Sirius. His emotions sat on his face all too clearly which was not like him at all. When he stopped the alarm that he placed there instead of sitting down, he started pacing the room. He seemed to feel many things at once. There was worry, hope, happiness. And the most visible feeling, confusion. He seemed to be more at a loss than the kids had ever seen their old DADA teacher. Harry decided that he needed reassurance more than Sirius at the moment, and he stood up from his place.

“Remus is everything all right?” He asked, but got no response. “ Remus?” He tried but got nothing again. “Uncle Moony?” He asked and that finally got through to him. It was a new thing between them. They didn’t use it regularly just yet only when one of them needed to feel wanted more than usual. It was used mostly after Harry had a nightmare and Remus went to comfort him. It was now Harry’s turn to do the same. “Are you okay? What happened?”

He didn’t get an answer. Remus pulled him close and clung to him like he was his last tie to this world, the only thing that’s real. He felt another pair of thin yet strong arms coming around them and even though Harry didn’t know why the hug was so intense, he felt his uncles’ stress and worry wash over him, making him cling to the two men just as fiercely.

“Is this about those strangers that came in?” Harry asked in a voice barely above a whisper. A bitter chuckle escaped his godfather's throat.

“They are no strangers Harry.” He said with something strange in his voice.

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“Man and a woman have wounds appearing on their bodies out of nowhere and they are quickly losing too much blood!” Tonks had announced as they burst through the kitchen door to clear the tables. “Also ten strangers just appeared out of thin air but let’s deal with that once neither of them is dying shall we?” They flashed a quick smile. “Anyone has an idea of what could have caused it? They tried some basic and some advanced healing spells but it didn’t do anything. One of them is a healer but she has no idea why they aren’t healing.” They explained quickly.

“Ask our dear old ex-Death Eater friend why that is.” Sirius said with sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“Can you undo whatever it is?” Tonk asked Snape who nodded and then the already packed kitchen became even more stuffed as Molly walked through with ten new people.

“Is this some kind of sick idea of a joke?” Sirius asked, recognizing the people who were allegedly strangers right away.

“Why would this be a joke?” Tonks asked, not understanding their cousin’s behavior.

“Okay, I don’t know what’s the matter with like, half of the room, but our friends are dying, so let’s discuss who has bad humor after we make sure they don’t die, please!” Said a man with messy black hair and glasses that were a bit wonky on his face. Snape seemed to be snapped out of his and he stepped closer to the two people on the table. “Wait are you Death eaters?”

“Of course not!” Molly replied.

“Then why is Snivellus here?” The man asked.

“Where?” Another man with long black hair asked only now looking around. “ Why are you pointing that wand where you’re pointing it?” The man leaned closer to the man that layed on the table protectively.

“I’d like to stop him from bleeding out.” Snape replies, seemingly calm.

“Fuck no! I would rather die than have you poke me with your wand!” The man on the table said.

“I can assure you he doesn’t mean that.” Remus said.

“How would you know?” The man raised his head then winced from the pain the simple action has caused.

“He really doesn’t mean it! Just do it!” The man next to him said, panic taking over his rational thinking. “But hurt him more and you’ll be dead so quickly you won’t even have time to think about defending yourself!” He added and Snape stepped closer to the man on the table. He started saying the counter-curse and after a few cuts have been healed the women from their group who must have been the healer stepped to the other person on the table and started copying Snape’s actions.

“If you don’t stop moving it’s going to get worse!” Snape said to the man.

“Wouldn’t you like that?” He asked back.

“Remus stop fidgeting! If you die before I can be the best man at your wedding I WILL murder you!” A ginger woman said. The whole group turned to the Remus sitting next to Sirius in confusion.

“And it would really be a shame if we didn’t get to send my family wedding photos. Imagine the look on my mother’s face! And the howlers we would get Moony!” The man next to him said with a huge grin.

The people in the room who didn’t already put the pieces together finally seemed to realize who the ten people were - well, at least who two of them were - and were now looking at their older selves with shocked expressions. Sirius stormed out of the room when he saw Molly wanting to ask the obvious question.

“Is he alright? He seemed a bit stressed.” The messy-haired man asked, looking worried.

“Excuse me.” Remus said, barely holding back his tears, and stormed out of the kitchen as well. Of course Lily Evans - or maybe she’s already a Potter - would be the one to get him to behave! And obviously, James fucking Potter would be worried about Sirius, even if he didn’t know it’s him!

He didn’t register going into the sitting room nor the fact that he was frantically pacing the room. That is until Harry didn’t grab his attention.

“Uncle Moony?” He asked and that finally got through to him. It was a new thing between them. They didn’t use it regularly just, but every time Remus heard it, it made him warm inside. It reminded him of a different time when he went to visit the Potters and a small little thing would run at him, screaming the same thing, demanding to be picked up. “Are you okay? What happened?”

And seeing Harry Potter asking him if he was okay was just a little bit too much for him at the moment. Because it was like James, carefully asking if he was okay every time he was down for some reason. But it was also like Lily, demanding him to be better since the two of them were long past the part where they were cautious around each other. So Remus has done the only thing he could and he hugged Harry close to him. He hugged him like the boy was the only real thing in the world, the only thing that mattered. He registered Sirius hugging the both of them the same way as well and it reminded him of another time in another war. It was the night before James and Lily were supposed to go into hiding just before the boy’s first birthday. Him and Sirius were fighting a lot back then but that night wasn’t about them. Harry fell asleep in their arms, snuggling close to them, and as they brought the boy up to his room they clung to him. They were only fighting for him and they knew they would continue to do so until they won the war for him no matter what the cost was. Back then, Harry didn’t even wake up as the two men cried over him, but today he hugged them back just as needily.

“Is this about those strangers that came in?” Harry asked in a voice barely above a whisper once they calmed a bit. A bitter chuckle escaped Sirius’s throat.

“They are no strangers Harry.” He said, his voice full of the strange grief Remus felt.