Little Lupin

Chapter Seven: Halloween

A/N: Okay, this is sort of a copy and paste scene, I took it straight from the book but added some dialogue from Alyssa to it. Hope you like it anyway.

Today, twelve years ago, Remus Lupin lost everything. Each of his best friends was killed and it was all the fault of one man, whom he thought was his friend, but it was all a lie. That man was now on the run after escaping Azkaban, the wizard prison that was supposed to be inescapable. Of course, Remus had an idea of how he did it, managed the impossible, but he didn't tell anyone. Maybe some part of him held on to the belief that maybe his long-time brother in all but blood was innocent of the crimes he'd been accused of. His heart said he was, but the rational part told him that Sirius had gotten what he deserved.

For years, Remus lived alone and every year on Halloween he was forced to remember his feelings of betrayal and his despair over losing James, Peter, and Lily. And finally, he thought of how Harry must be feeling. The whole ordeal had left Harry an orphan and Remus didn't think for one second that the Dursleys had treated him as their own like they should have. This cycle of depressing thoughts continued until he couldn't take it anymore and he would break open a bottle of Firewhisky.

But this year was different since he had his daughter with him. Even if she didn't fully understand the significance of today, he could count on her to brighten his day and keep him from spiralling into a slump. It was a Hogsmeade day, so the castle would be much emptier with the third-years and up down in the village. Remus couldn't bring himself to venture there himself, it held too many memories. So he and Alyssa were going to have a peaceful day indoors.

"Harry?" said Remus, peeking his head out of his office door. "What are you doing? Where are Hermione and Ron?"

"Hogsmeade," Harry said in a falsely casual voice.

"Ah," Remus said. "Why don't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson."

"A what?" Harry asked, walking in after Remus. They came to a tank containing a sickly green creature with sharp little horns, which had its face pressed against the glass and was flexing his long spindly fingers.

"A water demon," Remus said thoughtfully examining the creature. "We shouldn't have too much difficulty with him, not after the kappas. Notice the abnormally long fingers? The trick is to break its grip. Strong, but very brittle."

Just then, a small voice sounded from the upstairs balcony.

"Harry!" Alyssa said, running downstairs to greet the teen. She had been in her room reading when she heard her father talking to someone.

"Hi, Alyssa!" said Harry, smiling a bit.

"I thought you would be in Hogsmeade today," she said.

"I didn't get my permission slip signed," Harry said, sighing.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But that just means you can hang out with us," she said happily, walking over to examine the Grindylow. Harry and Remus shared fond looks.

"Do you want some tea? I was just thinking of making some," Remus said.

"Alright," Harry said somewhat awkwardly. Remus tapped the kettle with his wand and a blast of steam issued suddenly from the spout.

"I only have teabags, I'm afraid, but I daresay you must be tired of tea leaves," Remus said. Harry looked at him and Remus's eyes twinkled.

"How did you know?" Harry asked.

"Professor McGonagall told me," Remus responded. "Do you want a cup, Alyssa?" he asked his daughter, who was standing on her tiptoes trying to stick a finger in the tank. She nodded and came over to join them at the table. Remus passed them both a chipped mug of tea, placing a cooling charm on Alyssa's so she wouldn't burn her tongue. "You're not worried, are you?"