you are loved. - r.lupin (ft. THE s.black)

forgiveness

"Potter, please stay after class," Remus instructed. "Everyone else is dismissed."

Ron glanced at his best friend and Harry only shrugged as they packed their bags. Ron pat his friend on the back and walked off with the rest of the class while Harry stayed behind. 

"Y'know, Harry, I was friends with your mother," Remus said. "And your father. You're a spitting image of him."

"Yes, well, Professor Pettigrew was friends with them as well. Much closer than you were to them, I'd say," Harry snapped, obviously not fooled but Remus' kindness. 

"She was closer to Lily but I was closer to James-"

"I doubt that." 

Ever since the first night in the Great Hall, Harry despised Remus Lupin. He talked to Caroline, asking him about Remus, and it was clear that Caroline disliked Lupin. And any person Caroline didn't like, Harry didn't like either.

"Well, I was one of James' best friends since first year," Remus huffed, trying not to get annoyed with Harry's attitude. "Caroline only became friends with him in sixth year."

"If you were so close to him, then why didn't you to go his funeral?" Harry asked. When Harry asked about his parents' death, Caroline told him as much as she knew and she told him about the funeral.

The only people at Lily's and James' funeral were her and Petunia Dursley. At the time, James' parents and Lily's parents had already passed, Sirius was in Azkaban, Marlene and Peter were dead. Caroline doubted that Regulus would want to come but by then, Regulus had already gone missing.

"I spiraled," Remus answered truthfully. "There were so many deaths and I just couldn't handle it so I went into a small cottage in the woods and didn't leave for years. I loved James, he was my best friend. Despite what Professor Pettigrew is telling you-"

"She's only telling me the truth."

"She's twisted the truth because she hates me."

"Aunt Car- Professor Pettigrew doesn't hate anyone. You're the first person she's hated and there must be a good reason," Harry scowled. "Even if she did twist the truth, which she didn't, there must've been a good reason to."

"She probably didn't tell you everything about James that you wanted to know," Remus bargained. "I can tell you all about him."

"Really? Tell me something about him I don't know," Harry demanded, "and maybe I'll think about not completely hating you for no reason." Remus thought for a moment. What could he tell Harry that Caroline hadn't already told him? 

"Your father used to sing in the shower. He sung Queen," Remus reminisced. 

"Yeah, he sung the Beatles and ABBA too," Harry shrugged.

"His favorite Quidditch team was-"

"the Chudley Cannons," Harry finished boredly. He'd heard everything from Caroline and he didn't need this pathetic man wasting his time. 

"One time, James wrote a love letter to Lily and it accidentally hit Snivellous."

Harry rolled his eyes and let out a small sigh. "I'm listening."

Remus grinned. "It was during fifth year in Potions, I think, when James hadn't won Lily over yet. She was sitting next to Snape and James wrote Lily this very long love letter. He balled it up and threw it over to Lily's desk but it up on Snape's. Snape ripped it up very angrily before Lily could ever read it."

"Hmph," Harry noted. "Why does Aun- Professor Pettigrew hate you?"

"I wasn't there for her when everyone died. She probably didn't tell you this but she married Sirius Black-"