Boys Will Be Bugs

Chapter 36: London

Hope was definitely ill. Other than the almost permanent fatigue, she was nauseous a lot, short of breath, and slightly out of it overall. She complained of her back hurting as well. Remus was no longer able to hide that he was worried, and urged her to see a doctor at least.

"Just for a check up," he said at breakfast when Hope was still in her dressing gown and barely up to making herself a cup of tea.

"Honestly, cariad, I'm fine. It's just a bit of flu."

"It's summer."

"Flu isn't just a winter illness, you can get it at any time."

"But you've been like this for ages, you should be getting better by now. You're getting worse."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Remus took a sceptical bite of toast, keeping an eye on her as he did so. He didn't think this was just flu, but his mum was stubborn. Everyone in his family were. It was a miracle any of them got along with each other.

James wanted to know if Remus wanted to visit his house at some point during the summer. Remus absolutely did, but there was no way he was leaving his mum on her own in the state she was currently in. He wrote back, declining the offer, disappointed that he wouldn't get to see what James's house looked like. Hopefully his mum would get better by the end of summer and he'd still have a chance: there was still a month left, surely she'd be alright by then.

His mum, however, had other ideas.

"You should get out of the house for a bit, love," she suggested a few days later. "Visit your dad."

"Charming."

"No, I mean it, it's all a bit claustrophobic here and we both need a break. Especially you, you've been on your feet ever since you arrived. You need a proper holiday."

"I don't mind being here, and I already visited dad last weekend." He had nothing against seeing his dad again so soon, but he still wasn't comfortable leaving his mum on her own. She had started to improve over the last day or two, a relieving development, but Remus didn't want to risk anything by leaving her alone. Not yet anyway. The two only had each other, and if something happened to her while he was gone, who knows what would happen? No one would be able to help her.

"There's no limit to seeing your dad, I'm sure he'll love to let you stay for a bit longer. Or you could visit your friend James, you'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, definitely. But..."

"Sweetheart, I'm fine. Go and see your friends." It was tempting. He really did want to see James, and he was sure James would be just as excited, but he was still wary.

"Can't you ask gran and grandpa to stay with you for a bit? Or at least, have them check in sometimes?" Hope sighed.

"Are you really that worried?" Remus nodded. Hope sat back in her chair, thinking for a moment.

"Alright. If I ask gran and grandpa to check in occasionally, will that make you feel better?"

"Yeah!" He nodded enthusiastically at the idea that he could now visit James without worrying too much about her. She agreed to the conditions, and he quickly finished his breakfast so he could run upstairs to tell James the news.

Remus went to his dad's first, mostly because he didn't want to floo himself into a house he'd never been to before so he needed his dad to take him up to Scotland instead. His dad didn't live in the Leaky Cauldron anymore, although the move had been fairly recent. It had been quite a big turning point in everyone's lives, because Lyall had been adamant that he wouldn't start looking for anywhere permanent until things were settled and it became clear that he and Hope weren't getting back together. Remus had tried to ignore anything he felt about the move, the permanence of the situation, and he had soon convinced himself that it didn't matter really because everything had already felt permanent. Remus was used to life with just his mother now and visiting Lyall on the weekends. So the move was barely a dent in the family's new normalcy.