Parent's Day
Sirius and Remus were sitting in the common room when James and Peter came in running. They were still in their first year. James fell onto the sofa next to Sirius and almost screamed in his ear:
“I have news!”
Sirius put down the book he was reading and rolled his eyes.
“I’m not deaf. I can hear you perfectly well.”
Peter sat down on the carpet and tried to catch his breath. Meanwhile, James kept talking, now in a lower voice.
“I overheard McGonagall and Dumbledore talking about Parent’s Days. It’s next week. Are your parents coming?”
Sirius froze next to him but he didn’t seem to notice it. And Peter had already started to talk.
“Yeah. My mom and dad are muggles. They will love Hogwarts. They were so excited when I started to do accidental magic.”
Remus nodded.
“My mom is a muggle too. Dad was a wizard but he liked to do things the muggle way so she didn’t see so much magic at home. And he died when I was five so she is looking forwards to this.”
James smiled widely.
“My parents are coming too. Mum was a slytherin and dad was a gryffindor. But she wasn’t like the other slytherins. She was cool. And she wants to see our tower. How about your parents Sirius?”
Sirius had by now calmed down. He shrugged and reached for the book again.
“I don’t think so. They were in slytherin and I doubt they will step a foot inside Gryffindor Tower.”
Peter and Remus looked at him with concern but James didn’t seem to notice anything.
“Come on. It can’t be that bad.”
Sirius snorted.
“Yeah. It is.”
He then stood up and put the book in his bag.
“I’m going to the library. I have to leave some of my books or the librarian will rip my head off. You wanna come with me Pete?”
Peter nodded and stood up. Sirius ignored James as he walked past him and left the common room. Peter simply followed him. They were halfway to the library when Sirius started to talk.
“They will hate me, right?”
Peter frowned.
“Who? Your parents?”
Black shook his head.
“No. Not mine. James. His mother is a Black but was more or less disowned when she married Henry Potter. She must hate everything that has to do with my last name.”
The smaller boy sighed.
“She won’t. I’m sure about that. You aren’t like your parents.”
Sirius raised his eyebrows.
“How do you know that?”
Peter smiled softly.
“You don’t act like an aristocratic jerk with a stick in your ass.”
Sirius burst out laughing. His laugh sounded a bit like a dog barking and his head tilted a bit back.
“Oh, dear. You’re not afraid to say what you think.”
Peter’s smile widened.
“What? It’s the truth. You’re not like that. You’re nice.”
They continued walking down the corridor. A few seconds later they heard quick footsteps behind them and, when they turned around, they noticed James and Remus running after them. James ran full speed into Sirius and they ended up in a very crushing half-hug. Remus, who had slowed down earlier, came to a stop next to Peter. They both rolled their eyes at the other two boys.
“You literally just saw each other.”
James smirked.
“What? Can’t I miss my Siri-Bear?”
Sirius punched his arm.
“Hey!”
Then his smile turned evil and he said calmly.
“You know what? From today on I’ll call you Jamesie-Poo. In front of Evans.”
James eyes widened and he attacked Sirius, who just laughed and jumped to the side.
“Don’t you dare, Black!”
They kept pushing each other the entire way to the library, where they were quickly hushed by both Remus and the librarian. Sirius left the books and, after Remus had borrowed a few books, they left quickly. After a short walk, Sirius took Remus books and put them in his own bag. Remus smiled at him.
“Thanks.
Sirius just nodded.
“It's fine. I know what date it is.”
Remus paled but before he could say anything, James pointed down the hall.
“Look. It's Evans.”
He started to walk towards her and Remus gently pushed Peter after him.
“Go make sure that he doesn't make a complete fool out of himself. Me and Sirius have to go leave our books in the dorm. We'll meet up with you outside.”
Peter nodded and hurried after James. Remus grabbed Sirius arm and started to drag him in the other direction. Sirius followed without a word. A few turns later, Remus pushed a door open and dragged Sirius into an empty classroom. He slammed the door shut and turned to Sirius.
“You know?”
Sirius nodded.
“Yeah.”
For a long moment they were quiet. Then Remus sighed and leaned against the door.
“Have you told anyone?”
Sirius smiled softly, went over to Remus and hugged him.
“I'm not telling anyone. I promise.”
And Remus started to sob.
“But… How? How did you figure it out?”
Sirius hugged him closer.
“Shhh. Take it easy. You’ll be okay. We’ll be okay. Everything will be alright.”
He kept repeating it until Remus calmed down and stopped crying. Sirius led him over to a desk and Remus sat down on it.
“My father told me about werewolves when I was younger. I connected the times you were away with the full moon. There was a possibility that your mother was a werewolf. But then she would need you after the full moon. Not during it. So it didn’t really make sense. Then I realized that it wasn’t your mother that was ill every month. It was you.”
The young werewolf lowered his head.
“Do you want me to move out of the dormitory?”
Sirius looked positively shocked.
“What? No! Why would I?”
“Because I’m a monster.”
Black shook his head.
“You’re not a monster Remus. You accepted me, even though I called Evans a mudblood and kept saying things that hurt all of you. Even though I am a wild card that could turn against you at any second. Why should I not accept you for who you are. Because that is what it is, Remus. It’s a part of you. And you’ll never be truly happy until you accept it.”
Remus looked up at him with tears in his eyes and Sirius sighed quietly.
“I swear, you cry more than Narcissa, and that girl can really cry.”
He enveloped Remus in another hug.
“I won’t tell the others. But James and Peter would understand. I promise you that. But I’ll just wait until you tell them yourself.”
Remus smiled softly while Sirius continued.
“And in the meantime, I’ll try to make your life easier before and after the full moon. So if there is something you want or need, just tell me.”
Remus smirked.
“Chocolate.”
The black haired boy nodded.
“Sure thing. That shouldn’t be too hard to find. I’ll fix it later. But we should really hurry up. I’m not sure why McGonagall decided to take this lesson outside but I would rather not be late.”
He picked up the bag that he had dropped when he hugged Remus, and opened the door. Remus followed him with a smile on his face.
The clip ended and Dumbledore looked over to Sirius with something like shock.
“I was under the impression that the three of you found out about Remus in your second year.”
Sirius shrugged.
“As I told Remus, I had been told about werewolves at a very young age. I would be ashamed of myself if I figured it out first in second year.”
Hermione tilted her head and asked from where she was sitting:
“What was that Parent's Day? “
Sirius sighed and turned to her.
“One of the most stupid traditions in the school. Fortunately, it was taken down and forgotten after the first orphans of war started to attend Hogwarts. Unfortunately, it was still in full working force when I was in my first year.”
Remus, who had been staring at the wall, rolled his eyes and gently punched Sirius arm.
“You’re not really giving her any explanation, Siri. As to the day. It was a day when all the first years invited their parents over to the castle. It didn’t matter if the parents were muggle or wizard. Everyone was welcome. They stayed for a few days. Everything depended on when people needed to be back in work. During the stay, the parents stayed in special bedrooms made in the houses that their child was in.”
Hermione smiled in thanks and Sirius rolled his eyes.
“As I said, the most stupid tradition ever.”
Harry glanced over to Orion’s portrait.
“Did they come?”
Orion smirked while Sirius closed his eyes briefly.
“They did. And it was not pretty.”
Right then, Molly finally found her voice again.
“Is no one going to comment on Sirius using an unforgivable? Albus?”
Dumbledore slowly looked from Molly to Sirius. Then he turned to Minerva but no help was coming from her. He turned back to Molly and sighed.
“I’m not trying to make any excuses for Sirius, but you do realize that Severus uses them as well, right?”
Molly snorted.
“It’s different. He has to. Or they would figure things out.”
Snape rolled his eyes.
“Just say it Molly. I do it because I’m a deatheater. Why are you trying to act as if that is not a fact?”
Molly just shrugged.
“You’re not like them.”
Sirius sat up straight.
“And I am?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions, son. We all know the answer.”
Sirius turned to his father but seemed to shrink back into his seat when he noticed a dangerous glint in those grey eyes. He understood the message.
“Just play the next one Remi. The faster you are done, the faster I can go back to trying to destroy their portraits.”