the case of dawna flynn - r.j lupin

three

Saturday had been uneventful on Remus' behalf, he'd spent the day in his classroom adjusting things and readying everything for his lesson with the 5th years on Monday morning. He took his time so he spent all day in that room and missed dinner but he didn't mind. Remus often skipped meals so this wasn't new and didn't particularly affect him.

On Sunday he had nothing to do. All his lessons had already been planned and  written out between the time Dumbledore had asked him to become a teacher and now. Remus as always had made quick work of it. 

He laid in his bed in the early morning in his underwear trying to get back to sleep but he ended up just staring at the wall for the next two hours. It wasn't particularly exciting and he was mentally berating himself for not finding something productive to do, like refold all of his socks or unpack and repack his dresser. It had long gone breakfast and he'd just missed lunch when his stomach started growling, so he decided to get up and see if he could convince the house elves in the kitchen to make him something small at least.

The man dragged himself from bed and lazily got dressed and brushed his teeth and his hair before leaving the room. He fiddled with his wand as he walked and he was about half way there when the man passed the corridor that led to the Hospital Wing. Remus stopped in the middle of the corridor, questioning himself. Why hadn't he gone to see Poppy yet? It was a good question and one he didn't have an answer to.

Glancing down at his stomach the man contemplated whether food could wait and after hearing it growl gently he decided that the food could definitely wait. Chances are Poppy had food laying about somewhere and he knew she'd gladly give some to him.

Remus' pace had picked up now that the anticipation of seeing Poppy had sunk in. Poppy, or Madam Pomfrey, was the schools only nurse which at times seemed impractical with the amount of students that go to the school but she handled the workload spectacularly. Especially when Remus was back in school. Poppy had been one of the few in the school that knew about his condition and she had been through the works with him. She was the first one there in the mornings after the full moon before he told his friends about it. She was the one who cleaned his scratches and nursed him back to health. He felt like he owed Poppy his life and maybe he did.

He knocked on the door to the infirmary as he walked in and Poppy was bent over piles upon piles of paper, she looked much older then when Remus last saw her but it made sense because it had been 15 years, he didn't look how he did back then either. Poppy didn't look up right away and just waved him in, directing him to a bed.

"I'll be with you in a moment, just go sit on that bed over there." She spoke and pointed at a nearby bed. Remus smiled.

"Wouldn't it be unwise to have me at the front of the infirmary Poppy? Don't want people finding out now do we?" Remus spoke and although his voice had matured Poppy could have recognised that voice anywhere. The woman looked up and when she saw Remus Lupin stood at the door she placed down her quill and rounded her desk.

"Oh Remus," The woman gushed and Remus met her halfway in a motherly hug. "It's so good to see you." They both pulled back from the hug and Poppy ushered him to sit, so he did.

"It's good to see you too Poppy," Remus responded and almost leant into her touch as she smoothed out the bed hair he was sporting.

"I heard that you'd come back here to teach and was wondering when you'd come and see me. I haven't really had the time to come by you, but if I did I assure you I would have." The lady assured him and Remus just stared at her. Seeing her again made him emotional and he felt himself tear up so he wiped at his eyes. "Oh I hope you don't start crying because it'll set me off." She laughed and Remus laughed along with her,

They were silent for a few moments.

"How has the changing been since you left?" Poppy asked him and Remus shrugged his shoulders dumbly as an answer. He could tell she was trying to avoid talk about his friends and he appreciated it. He liked how Poppy could read him like a book, it made getting help just that much easier.

"I can start giving you that sleeping draught again, it used to help a little." She offered and Remus shook his head.

"No, it's okay Poppy. After 15 years you figure out ways too lessen the blow." He told her and she nodded in understanding before standing up abruptly.

"Follow me, follow me Remus." she ushered as she pushed open the door to the back room. "There's someone who'd love to see you."

Remus followed and he glanced at the papers on the desk as he passed, pausing for a moment when he saw Harry's name on the top piece and went to pick it up when Poppy called his name again. He turned away and followed her. Although normally an observant person, Remus didn't take any note of the cat bowls beside the desk, or the cat flap in the door they went through. Or even the most obvious, the cat bed on the top of the desk. It had been 15 years so the orange cat with the peculiar white markings didn't come to mind  as he'd thought her to have passed.

Remus left the door open behind him and he looked towards Poppy who was crouched down by a box.

"What is it Poppy?" He asked.

Remus almost audibly gasped when Poppy pulled out a large ginger cat and held her in her arms with a broad smile. The man looked her in the eyes with questioning.

"Red?" he asked and Poppy nodded excitedly. 

The cat looked the same, albeit much bigger then when he last saw her, but the markings around the face which he'd have thought to fade with age were still as prominent as they were when he first found her. They were whit markings that circled the cats eyes only and there were also little flakes of white around the nose which gave the cat an image of a moustache. Remus had thought the cat to be dead but she wasn't and he was surprised. Apart from size the cat didn't seem to have really aged much at all apart from losing the young cat face.

"She's alive?" He asked and Poppy put her down and Remus crouched in front of the cat and held his hand out.

"I'm just as surprised as you are Remus, she's well over 17 years now at least and still as pumping as a kitten would be." Poppy told him and folded her hands in front of her. Remus turned his full attention to the cat.

"Hey Red, remember me?" He spoke in a soft voice, much like the one he had spoken in the first time he found her. Red looked unsure, cautious. Despite being a girl inside being a cat messed with her perception and memory a little bit. She leaned forward and sniffed his hand, Remus watched in silence and anticipation. "It's Remus." As he spoke, the familiarity of the mans scent hit her.

'Remus!'

A meow came from the cats mouth and her tail began swishing energetically and she jumped at him. Familiarity was something Red craved as a cat and she truly believed it's what kept her still that little bit human after these 15 years. Madam Pomfrey had been that anchor for her all these years but when she realised the man before her was Remus bloody Lupin she felt her humanity grow a little stronger then it had been in a while.

"You do remember me." He gushed as the cat meowed again and brushed against him excitedly and kept trying to jump up at him. He eventually gave in and as he stood up, scooped her up in his arms and the cat licked his cheek. "Oh Poppy, thank you for looking after her so well." He gratified and Poppy smiled.

"It's been a pleausure." She told the man and she watched the two for a moment before coming up with an ultimately hard but right decision. "You should take her." She said and Remus looked up at her in shock,

"I couldn't, she's been with you for 15 years-"

"I insist, Remus. She is your cat after all, I'm only her guardian."

Remus looked down at Red who was already staring up at him with her green eyes wide. Remus smiled and looked up at Poppy.

"Thank you Poppy." He told her and the women waved it off. "I know it must have been a hard decision-"

"I promised I'd look after her for you Remus," She interrupted, "and that is what I've done. I'll have all of her stuff ready for you by dinner. Now shoo, I have work to do."