Turning Time (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

Furry Little Problem, pt. 3

“You’re not supposed to—why…” Lupin finally said in a hoarse voice, which started to shake.

Harry, careful to not startle Lupin, stepped down the rest of the stairs, watching Lupin closely for his next move.

They went for their wands, slowly, at the same time. Then, Lupin’s hand stopped in mid reach and dropped to his side. 

“I don’t know any—any memory erasing s-spells…I…” Lupin broke down and his eyes filled with tears. “Please don’t tell anyone!” 

“I wasn’t planning to…” Harry trailed off, not knowing what to say or do. 

Lupin’s face was splotchy, but the humiliation of crying in front of a near-stranger had stopped his tears. 

“Listen…” Harry began, and Lupin looked back at him fearfully. “I didn’t mean to scare you—” 

“Why did you come here? How did you?” Lupin interrupted, too surprised and scared to be suspicious. 

“Why? Er, because…” Harry searched for an explanation. “I followed you here, actually. I…wanted to know what was wrong.”

Lupin still seemed doubtful, but he had bigger problems than worrying how they ended up in the Shack. His eyes found the floor and his brow furrowed, searching for a solution. 

Harry thought for a moment. “Look, if you’re worried, we can talk to Dumbledore about erasing my memory. How about we go back to the castle and see him before everyone wakes up?”

Lupin nodded, but his expression told a different story. He must be tempted to have a friend who knew his biggest secret. Once he knew Harry would accept him, then he’d have his first close friend with whom he has nothing to hide. There must’ve been so much pressure between him and James, Sirius, and Peter before they knew his secret; they had been his only friends and he could easily lose them. 

The journey back to the castle felt slow, drawn out. At first, neither made any attempt at conversation, but it was hard to ignore each other. 

“Does anyone else know?” It was a decent place to start. 

Lupin took a while to respond, clearly uncomfortable. “Only Madam Pomfrey, McGonagall, and Headmaster Dumbledore.”

“How long have you…” 

“Since I was four,” Lupin replied. He averted his eyes.

“Oh.” Harry considered apologizing, but thought that would imply pity. 

“When I said I wouldn’t tell anyone, I meant it, you know.” Silence. “I have no reason to, really.” Still no reaction—time to go back to basics. “You might not remember me, but I’m Jacob Walker. They didn’t put me in Slytherin, they put me in Gryffindor. And I’m not saying all Slytherins would tell others, or that all Gryffindors wouldn’t, but there’s a reason I was placed where I was. My friends trust me. They—they tell me things that they couldn’t tell each other, and that’s saying something because Lily and Severus have known each other for years.” Okay, he was stretching the truth, but hopefully it was worth it to reach Lupin somehow. “I could help you, you know? When people ask where you were, at least you’d have me to help redirect their attention. Give you an alibi. Because I know what it’s like, feeling like there’s no one who understands you. But you won’t have a chance of finding someone until you open up. So I guess this is a good start.” 

Harry gave Lupin time to process what he’d said. When they had almost reached the castle, he said carefully, “Thank you. And it’s not that I don’t believe you, but I still think we should see Dumbledore.”