𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗸, remus lupin

˗ˋ 53

CHAPTER FIFTY THREE
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-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH REMUS WORRIES

. . .

He was distracted, and Remus wasn't in any position to deny it. He knew what his options to rescue Pandora from an awful Christmas were limited. The one pro that seemed to reign above his better judgement was the simple fact that she wouldn't be going back to that awful house in the village he once lived. Yet there were an overwhelming list of cons that slowly shattered his hope bit by bit. 

There was never a perfect solution to anything, as he grew older he understood this more than many others. But there wasn't any solution to this, neither perfect nor wholly imperfect. It was a stupid situation, and he could have given himself more than the last two weeks of school - which, realistically, never got anything more than a few notes done in anyway and the teachers often gave up their original lesson plans in favour of quelling their students' excitement with something more festive - to figure out what to do.

Two weeks - no, exactly eleven days - to figure out how he was going to stop Pandora from going back to the place she was locked away in. It wasn't her home, even if she insisted it was. It just couldn't be, not after the horrors it had done to herself and others. She had been there for years... yet for some reason she still wanted to go back. 

He couldn't comprehend the way her mind worked, and it was causing him for more pain that he expected. His home wasn't an option really. Peter was too nervous, Sirius didn't live in London and was planning on using the money his Uncle Alphard had left him in the end of summer to find a place and thus had never been in the running at all, Lily had a sister and James.. well James had Sirius staying with him until things were finalised. 

They were the only people he could even imagine asking.. yet none of them worked in the slightest.

And who was to say that even if he did find some conclusion that benefitted both her and the person offering her help that she would even agree? There was an incredible low chance of her agreeing to go somewhere strange and new. Hogwarts, whilst it was a massive step up from the loneliness she had faced, was isolated from the world, lost somewhere in the Scottish Highlands. 

All the people he could think of asking - a number which was, admittedly, very small - lived in much more populated areas. The cottage he and his parents lived in was in the midst of a thicket of trees was only a five minutes walk from the nearby village. James lived on the outskirts of a town, Peter in the middle of a city, Lily in a town larger than most. 

All of which were locations perhaps not viable to placing Pandora in. Besides, he would have to be there too, right? He couldn't just ask someone to take her in and just not be there.. but he had to be with his parents at some point, and their house was too small to home someone like Pandora for even just a few days.

"You're going to snap your wand in half." James was stood in the doorway to their dorm, having watched his friend stare into space for a couple of minutes waiting for him to notice him. Eventually, he had grown bored and really wanted to retrieve the snitch in his sock door across the room. 

"Oh.. right." Remus watched as he walked in front of him. "Sorry, I didn't realise you were there."

"Of course you didn't; you were worrying." To James at least, that sounded like a reasonable explanation. On the other hand, Remus was confused. "Well.. you get all in your head about things when you're actually worried about something. If you're worried about a prank going wrong you don't get like this, meaning something is actually wrong. And you and Sirius haven't fought all year, and you've not gotten a bad grade in any lesson.. and it's nowhere near a full moon, so what exactly?" 

"I... you don't hate Pandora, do you?"

James's eyes widened just slightly. "No, I don't." He replied. "Ask Sirius that and you'll get a different answer but me? I haven't had that much of a problem with her after she stopped sending statues flying and threatening your life."

"She didn't mean-"

"Whether she meant it or not." The Potter remedied his answer, digging his hands into his pockets as he leant against the doorframe. "So, what's happened? You didn't kiss her did you? Because she's pretty and obviously you know her better than I do but kissing her will just make things even more complicated. Not to mention how Sirius will react - but if you have kissed her then that's fine, I don't blame you really... and I'll offer as much advice as I can."

"What - no, I haven't kissed her." Remus said, almost scoffing. "No - no.. I just.. I can't let her go back to her house."

"Pardon?" James blinked. 

It was then that Remus realised just how little he had told his friends about what he knew about Pandora. And it was then that he realised that if James was planning on helping him out on this, he would have to explain quite a lot. 

More than quite, actually.

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a/n
theres one thing i know
about james potter and that
is that he doesn't judge ever