Is It Over Now?

Chapter Thirteen

Remus laid his head down on his hands as he let the sound of McGonagall's lecture roll over him, resolutely ignoring the boy that he was sitting next to - the Slytherin that he was paired up with because bloody Peter was in the hospital wing with a broken arm after falling while trying to escape Mrs. Norris mid transformation. It wasn't the other boy's finest of moments, but no one told him to try and shift into a rat to escape Filch only to attempt to shift back after hearing the tell - tell pitter patter if paws on the old stone floor.

Normally the o furnace would have been halirious, Peter'd had the blood map on his for fuck's sake, but it was the map that was the problem and had all three of the Marauders in a sour mood as all three did anything but listen to one of the last lectures by their favorite Professor. In Peter's haste and failure to get away unscathed, the rat had gotten the parchment confiscated by Filch of all people.

The wolf only stared out the window and thought of simpler times of a year previous when he didn't have to pretend to be anything other than himself. A time when stolen kisses were accompanied by a group of friends walking through the castle in public, now it was almost NEWTs and the only time he got to see any of the other four was when no one else was looking.

He missed this time last year.

—-

Remus was sitting at the Gryffindor table one breakfast on the last Hogsmead day of the year, eating with the other three Marauders before the trio went into the village. He was surprised when Sirius started to sneer all of the sudden. The conversation had been playful only a moment before, ideas for pranks spilling from lips as Remus talked through the mechanics behind each. But the wolf only turned and smiled at the cause of the shift.

"Morning, Dora."

The Ravenclaw smiled but it didn't reach her eyes, something that Remus noticed right away.

"What happened?" The fox asked, his brows drawn in concern. Pandora wasn't one to fake emotions.

"I have a date with Lovegood today in the village," the blond says softly, and Remus sees Sirius draw a brow, some of his previous good mood restored for whatever reason.

"Isn't that a good thing?" The dog asks and for the first time in a while the wolf finds himself agreeing with the other Marauder.

"Would be," Dora admits, but still doesnt look away from Remus, "but Reg found out."

And now Remus knew the problem.

Blood meant nothing to the members of their group, blood was the people that threw you away like trash to Boy's Homes and house elves to raise. The people that beat you for small mistakes and thought you strange and less than human for anything peculiar about you. When blood meant nothing to you, those that you chose as family meant more than another ever could. Dora was their sister and Regulus was a very protective older brother.

"Where is he?"

"He went after Xenophilius," the Ravenclaw admits, "but it gets worse."

" How ?" Remus asks, already planning lies in his head to cover should anyone hear the threats that the younger Black brother was bound to make.

"Barty went to stop him... and then Evan went to stop Barty."

Remus stood, already knowing what sight would greet him once he found the four and smiling all the same.

"Where are you going?" James had asked, confusion clear in his voice as the strange pair began to walk away from the lions.

"To go stop Reg from killing Lovegood," Remus said with a smile, as if it were obvious, "and maybe to kill Barty myself should it come down to that."