Carry On || Remus Lupin x Reader

1

"Welcome to my humble abode," Sirius says, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

You're not sure what to think, so you look up at Remus, who has an odd, somewhat pained, expression on his face as he looks around the room.

Everything in the house seems to be coated in a thick layer of dust, making it clear that nobody has lived here in quite some time. But it's not just the physical appearance of the place that makes you feel oddly about it: it's also the fact that you know the abuse that Sirius endured in this very house when he was a child, until he ran away when he was sixteen.

Remus had filled you in after the two of you were informed that You-Know-Who is back, after Harry was almost killed, and after it was revealed that his "Professor Moody" wasn't Mad-Eye Moody at all, but instead Barty Crouch Jr., a Death Eater who was thought to be dead. Shortly after, Dumbledore had showed up on Remus's doorstep - where you've been living with him for the past year - and asked the two of you to be a part of the Order of the Phoenix: an organization that Remus had been a part of during the war years ago, and one that you had heard of, but were far too young at the time to know anything about. Remus was reluctant, but agreed, and you agreed as well.

Remus looks down at you, and the two of you exchange a look. While you've gotten better at figuring him out over the last year, he's still impossible to read sometimes, and this is one of those times.

Instead, for now, you slip your hand into his, and he squeezes it reassuringly as you continue to follow Sirius through the house.

He leads you up a staircase, and you resist from resting your other hand on the handrail, which looks just as dusty as the rest of the house.

"You two can have first pick of the bedrooms," Sirius says, glancing back over his shoulder as you reach the next floor, "Before Molly and Arthur and their litter get here... How many have they got again?"

"I mean, seven total," you answer, "but they should only be bringing the youngest four."

Sirius looks at you for a moment before turning away to open one of the four closed doors on this level. While he hadn't fully entered your and Remus's lives until recently, you know that it's been both odd and a relief for Remus, having his old friend back who he thought betrayed him and his other friends for years until just recently.

You've grown to like Sirius, though. You know that he's still adjusting to life outside of Azkaban, and you can't possibly begin to imagine how that was for him. And now, he's dealing with the knowledge that his godson was almost killed by You-Know-Who.

"Ah, here." Sirius opens the second door on the floor, revealing a bedroom with what appears to be a neatly-made queen-sized bed, complete with a dresser, a large mirror, and a desk. "This is one of the few rooms in this house with one bed, so if you want it, it's yours."

"Looks good to me," Remus says, and you nod in agreement.

"Great. Uh, I think someone will need to go shopping. There's no food or anything here yet, and everything looks as disgusting as it is because Kreacher is a useless bastard, and-" Sirius continues to grumble, mostly under his breath, as he leads you back downstairs.

"Kreacher?" you echo, quietly enough so that only Remus can hear you, and he leans down, close to your ear, to explain as you descend down the staircase, your hand still in his.

"The Blacks' old house elf. Sirius hates him, and he hates Sirius, but he has to answer to him, seeing as Sirius owns this place now."

You haven't seen a house elf yet, so you wonder where he is. Hiding off somewhere by himself, you suppose, if he and Sirius really hate each other that much.