The Untold Story of Remus Lupin (and Tonks)

t w o

The house was now alive with laughter and chatter, which was a drastic change from the early hours of the morning.
The kitchen was now crowded, heads were bobbing and tea cups were clattering. The atmosphere was more cosy than ever.

For Remus Lupin, sleep was hard to come by, so he groaned in annoyance and the racket coming from outside the door, but quickly turned into a chuckle once he heard Mrs Weasley berating her children for god knows what.

Stretching out over the old armchair, he pulled of his cloak, stood up and hung it neatly over the back of the chair. The room was now quite warm, and with sunlight streaming over the dark walls, it was a drastic change to the gloominess of the early morning.
Outside, the rain had ceased, and the grass was now wet and the pavement covered in puddles.

There was a loud crack! And identical boys with flaming red hair apparated next to Remus. He stepped back quickly, but realising it was only them, rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself.
The twins were grinning back at him.

"Mum says breakfasts ready." Said one.

"You have to show your face, Remus, we have guests!" Said the other, in a surprisingly good imitation of Mrs Weasley.

Remus smiled, but it looked more like a grimace. The thought of meeting new people wasn't very appealing.

The twins turned to face each other, still grinning, and with another loud crack! They were gone.

Lupin strode towards the door, and no sooner had he turned the handle, he heard screaming coming from Mrs Black's portrait.

"Damn blood traitors! Half breeds!" She shrieked.

Remus tried to tip-toe by her, wincing as the floorboards creaked.

"And you!" Her steely gaze rounded on him. "Filthy animal! Get out of my house, wolf!"

Just then the kitchen door slammed open, and Sirius Black stormed out. He strode towards his mother's portrait, and with great effort, and help from Remus, managed to tug the curtain closed.

"Delightful, isn't she?" Sirius muttered.
Remus raised his eyebrows.

"Still though, makes me feel even better lending the house to the order." He smirked.

The two men walked easily into the kitchen. Remus hung around by the door and watched Sirius sit back down in his chair and begin a conversation with Bill Weasley about his time spent in Egypt. Every so often, Sirius would sneak glances at Remus, almost like checking up on him.

Painfully aware of this, Remus abandoned his position at the door and took a seat next to him instead.

Bill got up to help Molly scramble some eggs, and Sirius turned to him.

"Don't think I've forgotten what night it is, Remus."

There was a sharp intake of breath.
"Don't think I've forgotten either." He replied, rather frostily.

Sirius sighed "No, of course not." He paused, seeming to be pondering how he would tackle the next sentence.
"I was thinking, there's this barn near here, I could come with you. It'll be just like old times." He sounded pleading.

"No."
There was a thud. Remus had hit his fist on the table. There was a shriek and the sound of a plate smashing.

Everyone turned to look at him.
He stood.
Sirius looked pained.
Mr Weasley looked pitying.
Mrs Weasley looked startled.
The twins looked anxious.
All their faces wrenched at his heart.

He was no good for anyone here. He wasn't safe.

As he made to leave Mrs Weasley grabbed his arm.

"Here, dear. You've cut yourself. If you'll just let me clean it up-"

"No." Remus snapped.
Mrs Weasley looked hurt.

"I'm really sorry, Molly, I didn't mean to snap at you.." He apologised.

"Oh no, it's quite alright, dear. We all know the stress you're under."

He gave a curt nod at her, and one last look around the room told him that everyone was still staring.

His head down, he strode out, grabbed his cloak from the back of the arm chair and made his way to the front door.

He caught snippets of conversation from the kitchen. Molly Weasley's voice carried down the hallway.

"Poor man, he didn't even sleep at all, just sat in that old arm chair the whole night..."

He didn't want to hear anymore. He didn't want their pity. The exhausted man stepped onto the front step, slamming the door behind him. He could practically feel Sirius flinch.
The next second he was gone.

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