Lily's Charm- Severitus fanfiction

Revelations

1996

Madame Pomfrey released Remus early on Saturday morning and he, along with a red and golden-haired Tonks, poked his head into the dressing-room tent a few minutes before the first Quidditch game of the season, with Tonks calling out with firmly closed eyes, “Anybody starkers in here?” When no shouts of affirmation greeted her question, Tonks peeled open one eye carefully and grinned, pulling Remus over to the benches where the Gryffindor boys were gathered around Ron.

Harry smiled in greeting and then went back to bending over an almost catatonic Ron. “You’ll be fine, Ron,” Harry was trying to assure his friend but the redhead could only shake his head.

“Oh, quit being a baby!” Ginny snapped, not even bothering with Tonks’ precaution before stepping into the tent. Katie Bell and Hermione followed, though with more caution and Hermione seemed to be keeping her gaze firmly fixed straight ahead, as though afraid of what she might see.

Harry shook his head at Ginny and though she folded her arm across her chest and flopped onto one of the benches looking disgruntled, Ginny didn’t goad her brother any further.

Hermione sat down next to Ron and said soothingly, “Harry’s right; you’ll be wonderful.”

Strangely enough, Hermione’s reassurance brought a smile to Ron’s lips, where Harry's had clearly failed. Ron nodded jerkily and then taking Hermione’s hand, he nodded once again, more solidly and then dragged Hermione from the room, without a word. The rest of the team and the two adults watched them go, bewildered by Ron’s swift mood change.

Harry simply shook his head and turning back to his gathered team, he directed them to get their brooms so they could get out onto the pitch.

“Harry, can I have a word?” Remus asked as Harry and Ginny turned toward the exit to follow the rest of the team. Harry turned back obediently while Tonks wiggled her eyebrows, which strangely enough, matched her two-toned hair.

“Come on, Ginny,” Tonks whispered, “boys and their secrets, you know.” Ginny, although she was privy to all of Harry’s secrets, nodded with a grin of her own and followed a chattering Tonks outside.

“Everything all right, Remus?” Harry asked, trying not to be nervous.

Remus nodded though. “I have a message for you, that’s all,” he told his young friend.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, thinking quickly of anything he could have done in the past eighteen hours that his father could want to lecture him about. Coming up with nothing, Harry asked quickly, “Voldemort?” hoping desperately that his father hadn’t been called away.

“He just wanted to wish you good luck,” Remus explained and Harry flushed with pleasure.

“He did?”

Remus smiled. “When I commented that he was inadvertently hoping for a Slytherin loss with his good-luck wish, he made sure to insist that he was hoping for no such thing,” Remus added, his eyes twinkling.

“Of course he did,” Harry chuckled, still immeasurably pleased by his father’s words. “Will you be seeing him before the game?” Harry asked eagerly.

Remus nodded. “Tonks and I are sitting with the rest of the Professors.”

“Will you tell him that I’ll do my best to make his wish come true?” Harry asked with a smirk.