Harry Potter and Death's Mystery

Chapter 18

Remus felt overly tired, and slightly nauseous as he sat in the kitchen on the early morning of the ninth. The sun hadn't even begun to peak over the horizon, but Teddy was up, so in turn, Remus was up. 

He did everything in his power to not look out the window. The blinds were closed shut, blocking the almost full moon that shone brightly in the night's sky. 

Normally on the morning of a full moon, Remus would lie in bed all day, his muscles too fatigued to even move. And he felt that way now. Every step he took, his legs turned to jelly, and every movement of his arms sent a surge of pain through his body. 

But there he was, up and moving. In hindsight, he still could still be in bed, but Remus was overly stubborn, and made himself get Teddy's bottle at ungodly hours of the morning.

"Remus, I told you I'd take care of him today," Tonks sat at the kitchen table, and with a wave of her wand got a tea kettle to start boiling.

"I'm alive," was Remus's brief answer. 

"Want me to take Teddy?"

"No, he's alright. He just fell back to sleep." Remus's eyes trailed to the cup of tea his wife had placed in front of him. He picked it up with his left hand, and took a large gulp, not even flinching as the molten lava poured down his throat.

Tonks sat across from him, her hair shoulder length and blonde, and frowned, "You want something to eat? I'll get you a chocolate bar."

Remus shrugged as best he could with Teddy, and Tonks got up to get him one, unwrapping it before handing it to him.

"What time are Lily, Harry, James, and Sirius coming over?"

Remus's eyes wandered to the closed blinds as he took a bite, "Lily said something about arriving around eight with something for you, Andromeda, Ted, and Regulus to eat. Whether or not Sirius will arrive with them is a different question."

"Remus, can you promise me something?"

He met her gaze for the first time that morning, and sighed, "Yes? What exactly is it?" 

"Please don't overdo yourself around the full moons. Now, and as Teddy gets older."

"But —"

His voice trailed off as Tonks sent him a glare. She took Teddy gently in her arms, and kissed Remus on the forehead. "Don't worry about tonight. You'll be fine."

"I'm more worried about you," he mumbled, before taking another sip of tea. 

"We'll be fine. Now, go get some more rest before they come. I'm going to bring Teddy back to bed too."

■■■

Albus Dumbledore examined his burnt hand with an unreadable expression, his eyes gazing over every visible bone and vein. 

Ever since his return almost two days prior, he hadn't been very active, and spent the majority of his hours lying in bed, or sitting on a chair, writing down little tidbits of information on strips of parchment.

He had written letters beyond letters, filled with years and years of guilt that had burrowed deep into him. 

He had envisioned conversations that inevitably will come, like the Marauders for example. He hadn't seen any of them due to the full moon that was that day, and almost dreaded the one that is to come with Lily and James about Harry's upbringing. Not to mention the one about Sirius's nonexistent trials.

He had also pondered on the conversations that had already occured. For example, the night before, Harry had shown up. He was alone, and the clock struck almost midnight, but his emerald green eyes seemed more awake than ever.

"I want to ask you something," Harry had said. His tone was blunt, as if he didn't want to waste any time. He had a purpose, and he was going to get there as fast as he could.

Dumbledore had not answered, but made it clear through his mannerisms that he wanted Harry to continue.

"Do you remember the Afterlife?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "I only remember getting hit with the spell, then waking up in the Astronomy Tower."

Harry's expression was almost that of disappointment. That look was quickly masked by indifference. "I won't keep you up any longer, I'll just be leaving."

"Is that all you wanted to know, Harry?" Harry had turned on his heels with such speed that Dumbledore had missed. 

"What else is there to talk about? How you left me in an abusive household? How you were supposed to guide me, but only left vague hints that were barely decipherable? Because we can talk about those, but not right now. I reckon I'd need a full night's sleep for that. Good night." And with that, Harry had left.

Dumbledore sighed, knowing he'd have a lot of things to fix before the time in his hourglass was finished.

{A/N: I was stuck on Dumbledore and Harry's conversation for like a while? And then I joined a group account on here, and school started, and now it's finally Friday. One week down, much more to come. So, apology for the wait, and hope you enjoy the chapter.

Also, if your Jily trash, please check out JilySquad shamelessly self promoting here.

G'night, because it's 11 p.m. (23:00) for me.

Maddy}