The Devil May Care

The Devil May Care

By Dimgwrthien

As it turned out, the Founders of Hogwarts must have had a dreadful life as placing protective spells around the house ended up taking more time and effort than anyone thought possible. As soon as Sirius and Remus managed to place one spell up, Danielle and Harry managed to think of some new way to get to Harry and Sirius and Remus would exchange looks before getting up to place another set of spells around.

“This is taking forever,” Harry muttered at the table, head in his hands. “Isn’t there one spell to protect the entire place?”

“I wish,” Sirius answered darkly, sitting down as Remus followed, glancing at the walls as though looking for a place he missed.

“Someone could blow up the wall, climb in through the ceiling that would have been knocked out, then go through the square inch that’s not protected in the kitchen,” Danielle told Remus, smiling slightly.

“This is important,” Sirius told her, glancing over at Danielle.

Danielle threw him a sarcastic look and sighed. “I know. You were just looking for everything possible, and that’s possible.”

“No, it’s not,” Remus told her miserably, resting his head on his arms at the table across from Harry. “The walls can’t be thrown out. Made sure of that a moment ago.”

Sirius nodded in agreement.

“This is going to be hard without Dumbledore,” Danielle muttered, sighing and resting her chin on a hand. “I mean, we can only do so much. And if You-Know-Who is really after Harry, I bet he could get past all of these things easily.”

“It may be true, but we have to work around that,” Harry told her. He picked his wand out of his pocket and placed it in the center of the table. “I suppose I can’t use that anymore,” he sighed, glancing at Remus, whose eyes were shadowed with exhaustion from lack of sleep as he spent nights trying to fix up the spells. “Dumbledore managed to get the Ministry to let me use it, and now that he’s convinced I’m safe….” He trailed off, giving the wand a doleful look. Sirius reached out and took the wand, shoving it roughly back to Harry.

“You’re keeping it, even if we have to fight the Ministry with our bare hands. You’re in danger and you need to protect yourself.” He glanced at the other two adults. “We’re not going to be around forever.”

Danielle glanced sharply at Remus, who remained silent and merely closing his eyes, almost dozing off. He opened them before he could, however, and reached out a hand to grab Harry’s shoulder. “We’re going to be around you for a long time, Harry. Keep that in mind.”

Harry nodded slightly, pocketing the wand again. He seemed unable to speak now and his eyes were unusually wet.

***

Remus half-heartedly waved his wand once more, trying to fix up the last spell on the walls, glancing over the room. If he ran a hand around the walls long enough, he found, he was able to trace back where the spells were and strengthen them, making sure they covered everything.

“It’s late,” came a voice in his ear, close, hot breath on his neck. Remus jumped.

“Sirius,” he muttered, lowering his wand again, taking in a deep breath. “Sorry. Didn’t think anyone was awake.”

“No one should be awake at two in the morning,” Sirius told him gently, taking hold of Remus’ arm and pulling him to the chairs were he collapsed gratefully. Sirius pulled up his own chair right behind his friend, letting Remus drop his head onto Sirius’ chest.

“What have you been doing that you can’t do during the day?” Sirius asked Remus, frowning and pushing the light brown hair from Remus’ eyes. “You can’t stay up for too long in this condition.”

Remus did not move, but answered, eyes closed, “I’m fine, Sirius. I don’t need you to watch over me so much.”

“I think you do,” Sirius answered.

Remus considered yelling at Sirius here, but his eyes were already shaking under their lids, forcing him to start to sleep.

“Come on,” Sirius murmured in his ear, taking Remus’ shoulder and dragging him towards the bedroom. Danielle had left hours before, heading home, and Harry was in his usual room. Remus saw that it left Sirius in his room. “I can turn into Padfoot if you want.”

“No,” Remus answered, voice slurring as he climbed into the bed and moved over to one half. “I miss you.”

Sirius climbed into the bed with him and draped one arm over Remus, eyes still open and reflecting a light coming from outside.

“I’ve missed you, too.”

Neither spoke again. Remus moved himself into the comforting warmth that he had not experienced for years, breathing in Sirius and knowing that, once more, he was there.

Eight years of separation could do that to a person.

***

Remus was aware of waking once he heard footsteps outside as usual. He opened his eyes, peering at the shadows around his doorway and seeing Harry’s head peek around the door.

“Am - am I -?” Harry stuttered out, eyes wide. Remus glanced and saw that a half-naked Sirius was next to him, one arm draping over the edge of the bed.

Remus quickly moved away from Sirius, sitting up in the bed, getting out. He was suddenly glad that he had no time to undress before falling asleep.

“Sorry,” he said to Harry, feeling his face burn slightly. Harry stared at him for a second before staring at the ground, blushing himself.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “It’s just that - I - I had a nightmare.”

Remus glanced out the window and saw that it was still somewhat dark, the sun not even close to rising from behind the trees.

Sitting on the edge of the bed and motioning for Harry to come towards him, Remus asked, “What happened?”

He did not know how to deal with children in that way. The closest he had even gotten to a child and meeting cousins and the like, but that had been years ago. He remembered that, whenever he had a nightmare, his parents would ask him what happened and try to convince him that it was not real and could never happen.

“I saw people dying,” Harry said quietly, rocking in Remus’ arms. “All of you, being killed.”

“By whom?” Remus asked him, not sure of how to say that it was not true. He knew that they would die at some point in Harry’s life, but he wanted to reassure him, not scare him.

“It was Snape.” Harry’s eyes were still downcast and he was shaking very slightly. Remus cradled the boy to his chest, resting his chin on the unruly hair. Harry seemed to find this calming, for his shaking stopped and he started breathing easier.

“Why was Severus killing us?” Remus asked. Harry’s dreams did not seem abstract like a normal child’s with monsters lurking under his bed.

“He - he seemed angry. Mainly with you. Was shouting about how you all refused to give me to him. And then there was green and you were all dead.”

Remus froze, not even daring to blink. Harry could not know that Severus tried to force Harry from him. There was no way Harry could have figured that out….

When he finally spoke, Remus whispered, “Harry, did the dream seem real?”

Harry nodded, moving deeper into Remus’ arms, curling himself into a small ball.

“You should try to sleep some more,” Remus told him, trying to fight shock from his voice. He let Harry crawl out of his arms onto the bed next to Sirius, where the boy’s eyes closed as soon as his head hit the pillow and he drifted into sleep.

“Sirius?” Remus hissed to the sleeping man. Sirius grumbled a bit and refused to move. Remus prodded him in the back sharply, waiting until Sirius sat up, rubbing his eyes with the back of his pale hands.

“What is it?” he asked, yawning and blinking at Remus.

“Harry had a nightmare. No, listen,” Remus hissed as quietly as possible when Sirius made to sleep again. “It had Snape. And it appears real to him. Do you think anything could be going on?”

“No,” Sirius mumbled, yawning again. “I think it’s a dream and you should let me sleep. I haven’t slept in a bed in years.”

“I think something may be going on -” Remus started.

“No, nothing is. You’re just being crazy and making things up. You haven’t slept in a while, either. Just go back to sleep and you can think clearly later.”

When Remus opened his mouth to retort, he found that Sirius was already asleep.

***

When Remus woke up again, he found that Sirius and Harry had both left the bed already and that he was in an awkward position at the end of the bed, horizontal with his legs and arms off the bed. A blanket had been placed on him in a hurry, he could see, and he wrestled it off, almost tripping on the trailing end.

He walked out to the kitchen to find Sirius and Harry at the table, picking uncertainly at their plates.

“Sirius tried to make breakfast,” Harry informed Remus, frowning and prodding something that looked hard and white.

“I haven’t had the chance to cook in years,” Sirius told him, frowning. “It’s not my fault.”

“You could have woken me up for help.” Remus frowned with Harry and sat down. Sirius reached to the center of the table, pulling the last plate towards Remus.

“Should still be warm. You hadn’t slept most of the night, so I thought it wouldn’t be good to wake you. I remember how you were at school.” Sirius smiled mischievously.

“What happened?” Harry asked quickly, head perking up and watching the two with hope.

“Every time we tried to wake Remus, he would just sleep through everything.” Remus frowned but Sirius continued, throwing him a mocking look. “We could pour water on him, use charms, anything. He could sleep like the dead back then.”

Remus stabbed his fork into what appeared to be an egg, only to find the yolk split in half and remain in solid pieces. He moved them around the plate before dropping his fork.

“I’m refusing to eat it, too,” Harry whispered out of the corner of his mouth, glancing at Remus. Smiling, Remus made to stand up.

“That’s cold,” Sirius muttered, pushing his own plate to the center of the table. Just then, a knock came from the door.

Remus stood up, leaving the room and opening the door. Only one person would be able to find it.

Danielle was at the door, wet hair plastered to her forehead. Remus glanced up and saw that it was snowing heavily, the drops of frozen water hitting her heat and melting slowly.

“It’s bloody cold out,” she told him, shivering. Remus stood aside and let her in. “Sorry to intrude this early. I just have another day off before tomorrow and wanted to know if anyone needed anything. It isn’t smart for you three to go outside when the Death Eaters can identify all of you.”

Remus only just thought about this side of the needing Fidelius and frowned. “I don’t think so. Come in. You’re soaking.”

Danielle shook herself once, shivering a bit more and glancing at Remus. He glanced over to where Sirius and Harry were, trying to tell her where to go. She followed him, still, taking off her outer robes as she did so.

“Only about four weeks until Christmas,” she told them happily, sitting in the chair Remus pulled out for her. Harry smiled.

“This’ll be the best one ever.” Harry suddenly looked much more like a child, cheeks shining red and eyes glowing at the though.

Remus considered the amount of time Harry had been there. It had been a month ago that Harry had been taken by him from the Dursleys. Now, already the first of December, he knew that his own Christmas would be brightened up much more than the past few. Sirius and Harry there with him had to make a huge difference.

“What’re you all going to be doing?” Danielle asked, distractedly rubbing her hands together.

Remus glanced at Sirius and Harry, who shrugged. “Nothing, really, I suppose,” Sirius answered, frowning. “I don’t think any of us thought anything about what we’re going to do.”

Danielle nodded. “I’ll be stuck with family again.” She smiled secretively. “They’ll kick me out in a few minutes. I’m too annoying to stand for long.”

“You’re always saying that,” Remus told her, crossing his arms. “We haven’t kicked you out for being annoying yet.”

“I don’t like them,” she muttered, crossing her legs. “They annoy me, so I try to get out of going.”

“You could just turn them down,” Sirius snapped.

Smiling again as though hiding a special secret, she answered, “I like watching their faces.”

“You have problems.” Sirius leaned back in his chair, glancing upwards at Remus’ face. “Sit down. I hate it when you do that.”

“Do what?” Remus turned to Sirius, a bit shocked when he remembered someone else was in the room.

“Hover.”

Sitting down, Remus spoke to Danielle again. “You can come by here on Christmas afterwards, if you want.”

“Maybe,” she answered, smiling. “Thanks. I may end up having to work part of the day.”

“Stop doing that,” Sirius muttered, glaring at Danielle, who turned to him, confused.

“What?”

“I think you’re the one who hasn’t slept,” Remus told Sirius from behind him. “You’re getting angry at everyone.”

“I hate when you smile at Remus like that.”

“How?”

“You - you fancy him,” Sirius accused, outwardly glaring.

Danielle burst into streams of laughter, snorting every few seconds in her laughs. When she calmed down enough, she told him, still grinning, “Is that why you hate me?”

Harry was watching everything with confusion. “Why do you think that, Sirius?”

“You keep watching him and come over every second you have.” Sirius’ grey eyes were narrowed and fixed on Danielle’s.

Still giggling slightly, Danielle answered, “I don’t.” Sobering up rather quickly, she added, “He may be gone, but I’m still thinking about Peter.” Once she caught sight of his expression, she hastily said, “I don’t love him anymore, but I spent the best years of my life with him. Don’t give me that look! You didn’t have a clue, either! If you had been dating him, you would have been just as shocked! You were his friend!”

Sirius refused to answer that, but instead pointed out, “You’re making sheep’s eyes at him.”

Danielle snorted once more. “I have no fancy for Remus.” Glancing at Remus, she said to him, “No offence. You’re a wonderful friend, but that way… no thanks.” She smiled. “And that was not sexual,” she added to Sirius. “I don’t feel anything towards you either.”

Sirius seemed considerably cheered up by this and went on, still trying to avoid Danielle, but acting more civil to her when needed.

“What are you all going to do about the Death Eaters?” Danielle asked, leaning forward, elbows on the table.

“We’ve already done it,” Sirius answered, picking up the old dishes and turning towards the kitchen. “They’re enough spells around this place to last a hundred raids.”

“Not quite,” Remus admitted. “But it would take long enough for them to get around them that we would have decent warning.”

“I say you’re going to have to worry about that Snape man,” Danielle told them darkly, brow furrowed. “He seems like the biggest threat. By the sounds of it, You-Know-Who is mostly dead, at least weak, if not completely weak. The other Death Eaters were listening to him, though, weren’t they?” she asked Remus.

He nodded, face darkening. “They did everything he said the second it was out of his mouth.”

“You look better,” Danielle told him after a moment’s pause. She was inspecting Remus’ slightly haggard face for a moment. “You’ll be well soon.”

“I’m fine now,” he answered, feeling annoyed again. “I still have a while.”

“Twelve days,” Danielle reminded him quietly. “That’s not the point though. He put you through plenty.”

Sirius, who entered the room again, furrowed brow. “I don’t think Remus wants to bring it up.”

Danielle nodded and stood up. “I need to go anyway.” Without another word, she Apparated out of the room.

“We’re going to need to strengthen the Apparation spells,” Remus sighed.