Chapter 3
Remus
Truth be told, Remus was nervous. He had been so busy making sure the house was safe and clean that he had forgotten to worry about their new arrivals. It felt similar to the feeling he got in the days before a full moon, like no matter how hard he tried the outcome would be out of his control.
Remus thought back fondly to his school days with the rest of the marauders. Those moons had been the easiest of his life, as their animagus forms had been his playmates and kept both himself and the rest of the school from being harmed. In contrast, there had been the twelve years after where Remus would tear himself apart each month so he wouldn’t hurt anyone else.
Whatever the outcome, Remus was concerned his lycanthropy would be the cause. Four more people knowing about his secret wasn’t ideal, but given the circumstances he would have told them himself anyway.
“Moony, you only make that face when you overthink. If you’re worried about tomorrow you can just say it, you aren’t the only one.” Sirius remarked as he walked into their bedroom.
“Yea but I am the only one that’s a danger to them.” Remus replied. “That’s not true, Moony. I mean with the way I was raised im just as likely to hurt them eventually.”
“You don’t really believe that, Sirius. You spent your entire childhood proving that you would never be your parents.”
“But this is different, Moons. I know for a fact Draco was raised the same way I was because of Lucius. Theodore and Lorenzo are also from pureblood families, and Mattheo is Voldemort’s son. They probably think that coming here will be no different than it was at their own homes. No matter how much I distance myself from the rest of my family, I will be still a Black to them.”
“But you aren’t. You’re a Lupin now in case you’ve forgotten. If you still need proof that you won’t be a horrible guardian, just look at Harry.”
“Okay fine, but don’t be a hypocrite. You’ve been living with Harry just as long as I have and nothing bad has happened. I can’t control my lineage any more than you can control your lycanthropy.”
”But I could kill them, Sirius.”
“You really couldn’t, Remus. We go out to random remote places every month, and I lock the wards so I’m alerted if someone enters or leaves the house. Grimmauld Place is the safest place anyone could be on the full moon.”
“I really hate it when you’re right.”
“But you know I am, so how about we both stop worrying and get some sleep.”
With that, Sirius climbed into bed and fit himself into Remus’ arms. Remus realized then that not everything had to be in their control as long as they had each other. He also knew that even if he wasn’t in control, someone was. He hated that that person could be Dumbledore, and he hoped that he could give some power back to the boys after a word with the headmaster. They deserved at least that much for everything they’d been through, and Remus wouldn’t be blackmailed into being complicit.
Mattheo
Mattheo had his doubts about moving into Grimmauld Place. He didn’t see why anyone would take him in, even if they were blackmailed into it. He knew that this was only a temporary situation. He would be kicked out as soon as he came of age, even if the others weren’t. No one wanted to be associated with death eaters in general, let alone Voldemort’s son.
Having both Tom Riddle and Bellatrix Lestrange for parents meant that people expected him to be crazy too. The truth was that his parents had always been cruel to him, and by the end of the war Mattheo was done listening to their blood purist bullshit. If he was honest, he had never believed in it to begin with.
But if people expected Mattheo to be a monster, then that’s what he would be. He had all the friends he needed anyway, and he was glad they were moving into the Black family home together. Even if they turned out to be horrible people, or had their own prejudices like Dumbledore, he would have Theo, Enzo, and Draco with him.
As the four were escorted to Grimmauld Place by Professor McGonagall, Mattheo could see that the other three boys were having similar thoughts. Theo and Enzo looked apprehensive, and Draco just looked defeated.
When they arrived, Mattheo was surprised to see that Harry Potter had opened the door. He was dressed in a jumper that looked like it belonged to the Weasleys- red with a yellow H on the front- and a pair of jeans. He looked a mix of excited and scared, mainly the latter.
“Hello professor!” Harry exclaimed, “I was hoping it would be you to bring them. Sirius was just saying how if Dumbledore had come he would just bring the boys inside and slam the door in his face like he should have done the first time. He was not happy that he threatened Remus.”
“I said no such thing, Harry,” Sirius replied with a smile as he invited the five of them inside, “Besides, Minnie probably couldn’t resist visiting me. I was her favorite student, you know.”
“Padfoot, we both know Minerva’s favorite students were Lily and I. And we both share the sentiment so we both can take credit for anything negative that’s been said.”
Mattheo was shocked that the three of them openly talked about their dissaproval of Dumbledore. He hadn’t expected it of them, seeing as they were Gryffindors. He glanced at Theo, who had a similar look of surprise on his face.
To break the silence, Theo said, “Nice jumper, Potter. I’m assuming we can expect to see Weasley and Granger around a lot.”
“Ron and Hermione don’t come over much, actually. Grimmauld wasn’t very kid friendly when I moved in, Sirius just figured out how to stop the books in the library from mauling me. I used to spend as much time as possible at the Weasley’s, and this was a christmas present. Molly will probably make one for each of you this year.” Harry replied.
Mattheo had no idea how to react to that, so he did the one thing he promised Draco he wouldn’t.
“I don’t plan to be here until Christmas, actually,” He said, “I’ll be of age by then, and since my parents are dead I don’t have to wait for them to get out of Azkaban. Dumbledore won’t allow me to return to school after the holidays, but the trace will be gone so I can go wherever I want.”
Draco gave him a look as he said, “Mattheo means to say thank you for taking us in, but that won’t be necessary.”
“Don’t put words in his mouth, Draco,” Theo interrupted, “If Mattheo wants to leave us, I won’t stop him. He can be just like everyone else who’s left us alone.”
“That’s not what I mean, Theo. I just mean that I shouldn’t have to stay here as payment for things my parents did. If I apologize for my father being a piece of shit blood purist and my mother being batshit crazy, then can I leave?” He asked McGonagall.
“I agree with Mattheo. Why are we expected to pay for things our parents have done? As far as I know, none of us fought against the order and the rest of our classmates. Draco only went with his mother so his father wouldn’t kill them. The rest of us tried to stay hidden and help the injured.”
Draco stormed up the stairs as Enzo spoke, and Mattheo started regret bringing up the topic at all.
“Enzo, he didn’t want anyone to know.” Theo said
“Shit, sorry. I thought Dumbledore must have told them everything we told him considering they agreed to take us in.”
“We don’t have to know everything that happened to know that none of you had a choice in your parent’s decisions,” Remus said.
“What we do know is that you want to continue your education, and we won’t stop any of you from doing that. You can continue to live at Grimmauld for as long as you need or want to.” Sirius added.
“Now we can show you to your rooms, if you’d like.” Harry said, already starting up the stairs.
The rest followed, and at the top of the stairs was a long hallway with twelve doors. On the closest 6 doors were plaques with names on them. The closest door to the left read Remus & Sirius, and the next two doors read Theo and Enzo. Across the hall was Mattheo’s room, with Draco in the middle of him and Harry.
Remus, Sirius, and Harry went downstairs with Professor McGonagall so the boys could unpack, but the remaining three walked into Mattheo’s room instead.
“I can’t be the only one who thinks this is a trap, right?” Theo asked.
“No, I agree. No one is that nice. And do they really hate Dumbledore or are they just trying to trick us into talking bad about him?” Enzo replied.
“I actually think they’re serious about that part. I mean if someone were to go sharing all my secrets I would hate them too. What I don’t believe is that they’ll let us stay here for as long as we need. I think they might take care of you three, but as soon as I’m of age I’ll be kicked out. Sirius was thought to be one of Voldemort’s followers for years, so he’ll want to distance himself from me as quickly as possible. He can’t afford any more attention if he wants to keep Remus and Harry from getting bad press.”
“You all are morons,” Draco announced as he walked into the room, “If you had done any research at all before coming here, you would know that no one at the Daily Prophet will write anything negative about Harry or his inner circle. Last time Rita Skeeter tried, Granger put her in a jar and threatened to tell people about her being an illegal animagus. You would also know that Sirius left the Black family in his 5th year, and since then has only ever fought against Voldemort. He lived with James Potter until the end of their school days and only kept in contact with my mother and her sister, Andromeda. He’s also been famously anti-Dumbledore since he made Harry live with his mother’s muggle sister after her death, and so has Remus.”
“Why do you know all this, Draco?” Enzo asked.
“And what does that have to do with us?” Theo added.
“I know because my mother filled me in on the black family history. And it’s important because it means Sirius isn’t anything like our parents. He will help us simply because it’s the right thing to do. Harry and his friends can handle any press issues our presence might cause, and Remus will keep Dumbledore from sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong. The only thing we have to worry about is rumors around school, which won’t be a problem if we stick together for all of our classes.”
Just then someone knocked on the door. Harry was on the other side, holding whay looked like a cloak.
“Just so you know, I heard most of that. Most of what Draco said is true, but you should also know that both Remus and Sirius are terrified of fucking tonight up. They spent weeks getting the house ready so you wouldn’t hate it, and honestly Sirius wants to do this to prove to Dumbledore that not all Slytherins are terrible people. Dumbledore refused to help his brother Regulus during the first war, and he died trying to destroy one of the horcruxes because of it. Sirius hasn’t forgiven him since. Remus doesn’t want you to think of him as a monster and is worried you might tell people about his condition. To gain your trust, he’s arranged a meeting with Dumbledore at the start of term to make sure none of the Slytherins get unfair treatment when it comes to academics. They were going to tell you all of this and sent me to come get you.”
The four boys were shocked into silence. Mattheo didn’t realize that either of them cared so much.
As they walked downstairs, Mattheo took another look at the manor. It wasn’t as dark as he had thought it would be, and the walls were filled with pictures of who he assumed were Sirius’ friends.
“Hello boys!” Sirius exclaimed, “I never actually gave you a tour of the house, but since it’s late I figured we could eat dinner and save the tour for tomorrow before we go back to school shopping.”
“We’re allowed to go to Diagon Alley now? When Draco and I went a couple days ago we were escorted out by aurors.”
“That won’t be a problem anymore,” Remus said, “I’ve informed the ministry that since you will be living with us, Dumbledore has no say on where you can and cannot go outside of school hours. No one will stop you from leaving the house, but we would appreciate it if you would tell us before you leave. One of the only rules we have is no leaving Grimmauld on full moon nights, but I’m sure the reason for that is obvious.”
As they sat down for dinner, Remus began to fill them in on all procedures for the full moon and what he planned to talk to Dumbledore about.
“Sirius takes me to different remote locations each month so I don’t have to go to the ministry. He’s an animagus, as were James and Peter. This is how we spent full moons during school, as well.”
As Remus spoke, Sirius stood up and turned into a big black dog, similar to a grimm.
When he turned back into a human, Remus continued. “Don’t be alarmed if the next morning I look a little disoriented, or if in the days before it is harder for me to get around. I’m also known to be a bit short tempered around the moon.”
“It’s true, Sirius calls it Moony’s time of the month,” Harry agreed.
“Anyway, I wouldn’t be telling you all of this on the first night but the full is in a couple days. As soon as I’ve recovered, though, I plan to meet with Dumbledore and outline my rules for the school year.”
“What kind of rules?” Mattheo asked.
“Well for starters, no disciplinary action against any of you unless Sirius and I are informed first. I’ll also request that you all have classes together, or at the very least have Harry or one of his friends with you. Hermione is in all advanced classes, which only Mattheo and Theo took, so she’ll be with you when Draco and Enzo are not. If Dumbledore doesn’t agree to this, then I’ll arrange for a hearing at the ministry and also ask that a portkey be placed from Diagon Alley to Hagrid’s hut so you don’t have to enter the school from Hogsmeade every morning.”
“You’re doing all of this for us?” Theo asked skeptically.
“Not just for you, but for all of the students not living on campus this term,” Remus replied.
“I have already agreed to set up these arrangements should Dumbledore approve,” Professor McGonagall added, “and since 8th years are less dependent on house sortings, I will act as your head teacher. You can still earn house points for Slytherin, but any problems you have will go to me instead of Professor Slughorn.”
For the rest of dinner, the Slytherins were quiet. They had never had anyone care enough to make sure they were treated fairly. Observing the way Harry interacted with both Remus and Sirius made them realize that they wouldn’t have to be formal around them. No table etiquette was enforced, and everyone was allowed to speak freely.
After Professor McGonagall left, the boys went to bed. Mattheo stayed awake for hours, waiting to hear something normal to him. He was used to not having peace. Usually death eater meetings would get loud and could be heard from his room, or he would hear screams from Bellatrix’s latest victim. As he listened to the silence, he was unsettled. Everything felt too perfect. When he finally drifted off to sleep, he thought that maybe this is how his childhood should have been.