Miasma

Miasma

By Dimgwrthien

Wednesday

Harry and Remus were sitting across from each other at the table with a large pot of bangers and mash separating them. Harry, as it turned out, had a strange obsession with it and was spooning large amounts onto his plate and barely chewing. Remus, meanwhile, was eating slowly, watching Harry every once in a while and thinking. He picked up his mug of tea and sipped at it, winced, then added another spoon of sugar into it.

He would have his friends' child for at least a month... It was a huge deal to him and he wanted to plan out everything to be perfect.

"Harry, what do you usually do?" he asked. Harry chewed quickly and swallowed. His mouth went to one side of his face as he thought.

"Usually I work in the garden and clean."

Furrowing his brow, Remus added something else to his list of things to mention to Dumbledore. He twirled his fork around a sausage, spearing it and dragging it around his plate. "What would you like to do tomorrow?"

Harry put down his fork and stared at his plate, thinking. "Can - can I look around tomorrow? I mean, in that place we passed?"

"Of course," Remus answered. He noticed how meek and quiet Harry's voice was when asking a favor, and said, just as quietly, "Harry, don't hesitate to ask me anything. We can do anything you want."

Harry nodded shyly.

After dinner, Harry said that he was feeling tired and headed into his room. Remus sat in the front room on an old chair and faced the ceiling, head bent onto the top of the chair. Everything in front of him seemed to blur into his thoughts. Tomorrow he'd take Harry to visit the village. Easy enough. There would be messages for him, Dumbledore had said, so that would mean that he could start planning everything out. He'd do that on Friday. Saturday and Sunday... He knew that he would have to try and spend most of his time with Harry, not only for protection but -

Chewing his lip and folding his hands together, he thought about how to best approach Harry. He had not been around kids for years, and when he was, it was only for a short amount of time. Should he start talking to Harry himself? What would he talk about then?

Harry's words drifted into his head. "I still don't really know you, but I do know that you knew my parents. Could you tell me about them? I've never heard anything about them."

Sitting up again, Remus decided on bringing up the subject slowly and then telling Harry anything he wanted to hear.

He stood up and walked down the hall, glancing into Harry's room as he made his way into his own. Harry was under the sheets, curled up, breathing softly. Remus smiled and considered walking in, but thought better of it and went to sleep, sharing his night with dreams of Lily and James getting married, Sirius buying a motorbike, and Peter's old jokes that he missed so much.

Thursday

Remus woke to the sounds of birds outside his window. He rolled out of bed and stood up, leaning against the wall for support as his brain worked out who he was and where he was. There was the sound of footsteps outside his door and he went over to it, pulling it open in time to see Harry walk around the hallway.

"Harry?" he said. The boy stopped and looked up at his face, a nervous look in his eyes.

"I - I was just seeing if you were up yet," he mumbled and his eyes cast to the ground. Remus smiled.

"It's alright, Harry. I told you yesterday, there's no need to be nervous about anything. As long as you keep safe, you're fine here." Harry glanced up again and Remus saw his green eyes start to brighten as Lily's always did when she was happy.

Remus glanced back into his room and out the window, deciding that it was still around six in the morning. "I think some places will start opening closer to nine. Do you want some breakfast for now?"

Harry nodded and followed Remus back into the kitchen, where Harry helped take out the plates while Remus cooked. The eggs, once hitting the bottom of the pan, remained their until Remus hit it with his wand, causing them to sizzle. He left them there for a few minutes while turning over to heat the toast. Harry watched him heat the items up with his wand, a stunned look on his face.

"How do you do that?" he asked. Remus glanced up at him.

"Once you get to Hogwarts, you'll learn how to," he answered, smiling at the look on his face. "It's just saying the incantation and concentrating on it. Like this." He pointed to Harry's face and saw the scared expression flit across his face. "Accio," he said clearly to let Harry hear, and took the glasses that came up to him. Tapping them with his wand once more, he said, "Reparo." The glasses joined together once more and Remus carefully peeled the tape off of them and handed them back to Harry.

Now looking stunned, Harry studied them and placed them back on, mouth hanging open. "My parents could do that too?" he asked quietly.

Remus almost breathed a sigh of relief. Harry brought up the painful subject for him.

"Yes, they could," Remus answered just as quietly, picking up the frying pan and dishing out eggs onto Harry's plate and then his own. He returned it and repeated with the toast and sausages before sitting down across the small, rickety table from the child.

"Your mother, Lily, was very good with potions and charms," he explained to Harry as they started eating. "She was probably the best in our year in both classes. Well, possibly not potions," he corrected himself, smiling. "I'd say Severus was at her level." He paused and glanced up at Harry. "Have you met him? Severus Snape?"

Harry nodded and tried to hide a faint look of distaste on his face. Remus grinned.

"Plenty of people feel that way about him." He remembered his meeting with him on Monday and inwardly groaned. He would have to mention it sooner or later...

"Harry, I won't be around for part of Monday and Tuesday," he told him, playing with his eggs and twisting the slippery yolk around his fork. "I have a meeting with Severus. You'll be with Professor Dumbledore again for a little while."

Harry just nodded before swallowing. "Why?"

Remus stared at his plate, refusing to meet Harry's eyes. He felt almost guilty about hiding this from Harry so long, letting Harry trust him and even move in with him before telling him the truth. "There's this new potion that he and another man are testing."

"What's it do?"

Cursing the boy's curiosity, Remus muttered, "It - it's meant for werewolves."

He was met by silence and counted to twenty before looking up. Harry was staring at him with an odd expression on his face - curiosity and an almost disappointed look on his face. "Does that mean you're a werewolf?"

Remus lost his appetite as his stomach filled with bubbling guilt. "Yes, that means I'm a werewolf. The potion... it makes being a werewolf easier."

How did you explain to an eight year old that it makes you keep your mind rather than run off and try to kill everyone in reach?

"Do werewolves - are they..." Harry frowned, thinking of a way to ask. "Do they... you know, kill people?"

His voice lowered at the end of the sentence so much that Remus could barely get the words through his head, but he was used to these questions already to the point of knowing what Harry would ask. He felt himself pale and his heart beat became unbearably loud.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Harry. Werewolves - they - we aren't always nice. We're just like everyone else most of the time, but on the full moon..." He trailed off, shaking his head slightly.

He had only been six when he had been bitten, but the feeling of pain came into him again. There had been tearing, the sounds of flesh being ripped off of the bone, jaws closing around him so many times, leaving him in a life of prejudice and hatred. He could still see the deep scars from that night.

Harry lowered his head and ate a few more bites while Remus talked. "This potion makes me safe." 'No it doesn't. It just makes you safe. Your safety only affects mine because Dumbledore would kill me if anything happened to you.' "Well, it makes me safer to be around."

"So you'll be back on Tuesday?" Harry asked. Remus, thankful for a change of subject, nodded.

"Tuesday. And then we can get back to whatever we're doing." His voice sounded too cheerful in his own head, and rather forced.

When Harry finished eating, he picked up his plate and brought it to the sink. Remus finished only a few seconds after and placed his own in, flicking his wand at the sink and letting the dishes wash themselves. They didn't dry all the way with the spell, so Remus left them out to dry.

"We still have some time," Remus told Harry, sitting beside him on a patched up couch and glancing at the clock. "What would you like to do?"

Harry shrugged. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Harry said, "Could I hear about my parents now?"

"What would you like to hear about them?"

Again, there was a shrug. "I dunno. Anything, really."

Remus thought for a moment as to what in their past would interest him. Maybe a prank... their wedding? When they first met? He briefly thought of sitting there forever on the old couch, suspended in that moment that he hoped would last as long as possible, next to Harry and telling him every last thing he ever said to Harry's parents, every last moment spent together.

Crashing back to reality, Remus decided on when he first met Harry, after Lily and James' wedding.

"When you were born Harry, Sirius, Peter, your father, and I - we had been friends since we were eleven - were sitting in the tearoom of St. Mungos, waiting for news on yourself and Lily. James was almost in a panic, walking around and muttering to himself about all the things that could go wrong. Peter was almost as bad, mentioning anything that James forgot. Sirius and I were trying to calm him down when a Healer came in and told us that you were both fine, and that James now had a boy. He ran into the room at once, grabbing you, and he almost danced around the hospital with you out of joy, if it weren't for Sirius making sure he did nothing stupid with you."

He remembered the incident so easily, but the memory of Sirius clouded over it and the name had a bitter taste on his tongue.

"We got out of there soon after, and James made the three of us stay with him because your mother was out of it afterwards. She went to sleep once we were back at your house. Peter, of course, started to cook, which he had taken up doing when he was nervous after - well, that's another story," Remus said, smiling at Harry. Harry was watching him with wide eyes, clinging onto every last word. "James, meanwhile, had the task of changing your first nappy." He snorted. "Lily had been teaching how to on dolls for weeks before you were born, but once he had you in his hands, he forgot all of it. He tried a few times, and refused to let Sirius or myself help, afraid that we would break you, and you managed to get it on you on his eighth try."

Harry laughed for a bit, smiling widely. "What happened when Mom woke up?"

"Lily was almost as amused as you are now," Remus told him, smiling himself. "I got to tell her of what happened because James was having too much fun playing with you. She laughed and laughed about it and said that he would be stuck changing every last nappy from then on in hopes that she would get to see him attempt it once more."

He finished the story and looked at Harry, whose green eyes were filled with a laughter than Remus had never seen in them before.

The story had taken a little while to tell, Remus noticed as he glanced at the clock. "We could start walking out there, if you want," he said to Harry, who nodded.

Remus pulled on his cloak as Harry went off to get a sweater, which was too large for him and draped around his thin frame. Frowning, Remus pulled out his wand.

"Here," he said, and waved his wand at Harry's sweater, which shrunk just enough that it looked as though it could have been his. They walked out the door and Remus locked it again with his wand from the outside, then tucked the thin rod back into his belt. The flowers around them had an early morning dew on their petals and the ground was soft as though wet.

"When was the first time you came here?" Harry asked him, turning his head.

Remus thought for a second. His parents had never taken him to Hogsmeade themselves, but only to Diagon Alley because it was so much closer. So that meant -

"It was during my third year of Hogwarts," he told Harry. "It was the four of us coming. We'd all heard so much about the place, but none of us had ever come to Hogsmeade. Had a right pleasant surprise when we got here. The shops are amazing. There's Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks, along with Zonkos and plenty of other places. I'm sure you'll love it there. I did. Still do, as a matter of fact."

Harry seemed cheered up even more by this. Remus felt into his pocket, where there were several Galleons and Sickles clanging together, enough to buy a few things. Maybe they could go back after he started tutoring and had gotten paid.

When they entered the main street, several stores had already opened. Honeydukes was already open, as was Zonkos and the Three Broomsticks, but that was apparently it at the time.

"Where would you like to go first?"

Harry's head was turning in every direction as it had been when they first saw the place. After glancing at all the shop windows, he said, "How about Honeydukes?"

"This soon after breakfast?" Remus asked, smiling at the choice made. "Good idea. They sell candy," he explained as they walked up to the highly colorful front. "All sorts, though I doubt you've ever heard of most of them."

When they entered, Harry stared wide-eyed and ran off to the Unusual Tastes wall while Remus hovered around the chocolate and fudges. They had more flavors than they did before, he noted, and he slowly glanced through them all, deciding on strawberry and one with an assortment of nuts. Harry came up to him a few minutes later with what looked like one of everything from the store - blood-flavored lollipops, some gums, toffees, Fizzing Wizbees, and licorice wands. He tried to juggle all of these in his hands before Remus came to his rescue, taking some of them and bringing the lot to the counter.

After it was rung up, Remus felt in his pocket and found only a few Galleons and loose change in his pockets. They walked outside again, laden with three bags of candy that Harry was already sifting through.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks," Remus said, teeth starting to chatter. He hadn't realized it was so cold out in November, and his thin robes were not helping matters at all. Harry nodded and followed Remus into the place several doors down. The interior was warm and friendly as usual, and Madam Rosmerta passed them.

"Remus!" she called out to him. "How're you doing today?" She caught sight of Harry and paused, almost dropping the tray with several empty firewhiskey bottles on it. "Good Lord, is that - are you Harry Potter?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Luckily, Remus found himself thinking, she was not loud enough to be heard by anyone but the two. Harry nodded nervously.

"Hello," she said in a meek voice, staring at him avidly. "It's - it's amazing. Welcome to the Three Broomsticks." She glanced up at Remus. "There's a seat right over there. What can I bring you two?"

"Two butterbeers, I think," he said. When she left, Remus led Harry to the corner table.

"Professor Dumbledore said I should expect that to happen," Harry said to Remus, folding his hands on the table and staring out the window. "The special attention and stuff, I mean." He glanced up at Remus' face. "Is that going to happen more?"

"It is," Remus answered. "I'm sorry, Harry. It's one of those things that no one can help. You're special."

"You don't treat me like that." Remus figured that he must have looked nervous because Harry cut in quickly, "I'm glad. I don't like being treated like - like I'm different. I'd rather if everyone treated me like you treat me."

"No one likes to be treated like their different," Remus muttered to the table, frowning. "I really am sorry, Harry. I'll try and -"

"Don't bother trying to stop them," Harry told him, and Remus had the fleeting impression that Harry was the adult between them. "I know that they'll just try even harder if anyone tries to stop them." 'That was something I should have learned when I was his age,' Remus thought. He smiled slightly. "It's not too bad, I suppose, though. With my aunt and uncle, I'm treated like I'm no one, or like I don't exist."

Remus felt a surge of anger and fought back the urge to yell about how horrible they are and how Harry should not go back to them ever again. "You shouldn't be treated like that," he said instead. "No one should."

Harry gave him a thoughtful look and said something that really made Remus wonder who was the more mature one between them. "People around here don't like werewolves much, do they?"

Eyes leaving the table for the first time in minutes, Remus looked at a point past Harry's shoulder where he could see the starts of snow falling against the window. "No, they don't."

Madam Rosmerta passed by them again, turquoise heels tapping the ground. She placed two mugs in front of them, smiling warmly, and Remus made to pass her the money, but she held out a hand to stop him.

"On the house today."

Remus tried to hand it to her, but she refused once more and walked away. Harry turned to Remus when she disappeared into the currents of people talking.

"There's always a good thing about being treated differently, I guess," he joked. Remus grinned.

Harry brought the mug to his mouth, trying a bit of it before making a contented sound and gulping the rest down. Remus lifted his mug in a cheer and drank his way through it slower than Harry did. Harry, once done with his drink, put the mug down and lifted up one of the Honeydukes bags. He pulled out a package of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, and opened it, peering inside.

"Be careful with those," Remus warned. It would have been funny to watch the boy learn the hard way that every flavor meant every flavor, but Harry had never heard of them before. "Some of the flavors in there are dreadful. Look for the brown ones with pink spots."

Harry glanced into the box, shaking it every once in a while to turn them, and finally pulled one out and ate it. "Strawberry and chocolate?" he asked in confusion. Remus grinned.

"Those are my favorites."

While he finished his butterbeer, Harry pulled out random beans, asking Remus if he knew what they were. Spending seven years in a dorm with James Potter and Sirius Black had taught him plenty about recognizing the flavors. However, they came upon one he did not know.

"What're the red ones with purple stripes?"

"Odd-looking?" Remus answered jokingly. Harry held it up and the two peered at it. "Just try it."

"After listening to you listing off liver, dog droppings, bat guano, and human flesh?" Harry wrinkled his nose. "You try it."

Remus took the bean and bit into it. Harry, meanwhile, was digging through and finding more beans similar to it. "It's..." He felt a somewhat musty but familiar taste in his mouth that managed to get into his nostrils. It smelled odd, though not fully unpleasant. "It's dog hair," he realized, spitting it out into a napkin as Harry took the beans he found and placed them into the napkin with the chewed one.

It had tasted the way Padfoot smelled.

The two were sprawled across the chairs in the front room of Remus' house. Having lit a fire, Remus was staring into it, watching the flames dance and the smoke rise in shapes. Harry was digging through the bags once again, questioning Remus as to what each candy was.

"Blood-flavored lollipops?" Remus asked, nose wrinkled in disgust. "I'm starting to wonder whether you even read the labels on anything. Those are dreadful. Try those." He pointed to the ice mice. "Those taste much better."

Harry unwrapped the ice blue coverings on it and pulled the mouse out by the tail. "It's alive!" he yelled when it started moving in his hand. Remus shook his head.

"They're not. Like the Chocolate Frogs, it's just a spell."

Giving the mouse a confused look, Harry tried to duck his head under it to get the head into his mouth, but it kept wriggling out. As it got out again and again, an owl tapped at the window.

"Try grabbing it by the tail and front paws, then bite," he said, waving his wand at the window to open it. The owl entered, shivering off the snow from its feathers, then sat on the top of the couch. Remus pulled off a bundled up newspaper and placed several Knuts into a pouch on its leg.

"It's the Prophet," he explained to Harry. "The evening version, of course. Let's see." He unraveled the paper, glancing through the headings about happenings at the Ministry and news on Quidditch. When he got a few pages in, one heading caught his eye. Death Eaters Attack Muggles In Surrey.

Remus scanned the article, seeing what it said about Harry and his family. Once he reached the bottom, he murmured, "Oh shit," without realizing there was a child in the room. Harry glanced up suddenly, dropping a half-eaten mouse.

"What?"

Ignoring him, Remus stood up, paper still in hand. He walked over to the fireplace and took some of the Floo Powder on the mantle, throwing it into the flames. He caught sight of Harry watching ith interest, and decided that Harry would catch up on the conversation if he stayed in the room for a few minutes.

"Hogwarts!" he shouted into the flames, throwing his head into the green fire and glaring as his head passed several grates until it stopped on a circular room where a man sat.

"Remus?" Dumbledore asked. "How are you this fine evening?"

"Have you seen the paper?" demanded Remus, still glaring into the old face. Dumbledore stood up and sat down in front of the fire to face Remus.

"Of course, I have, and I must say -"

"Why the hell have they printed this?"

He regretted it the moment it left his mouth. Lowering his eyes to the ground, he heard Dumbledore say, "It was supposed to stay secret, but the Ministry interfered yet again. I'm afraid it would be too much to Obliviate every last person in the Wizarding World who read the newspaper."

Sighing, Remus nodded. "Alright. I knew they would be doing something like this soon, anyway. It was bound to happen."

Dumbledore nodded. "I'm very sorry, Remus. I'll see if I can do anything to fix this."

"No point, is there?" Remus asked. "It is asking too much to Obliviate every person in the Wizarding World."

He withdrew his head and waited until it felt safely on his shoulders before turning to Harry. "Harry, I believe this is going to be more difficult than anyone would have thought."

The Dursley family of 4 Privet Drive, Surrey, were attacked by a group called the Death Eaters (supporters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Names) on 7 November. Harry Potter, previously under their care, had been found safe in his home, and has now been relocated and is living with Remus Lupin, 29, of Hogsmeade.

The article went on explaining who Remus was and so forth, but it was what was under it that made him worry.

Mass Breakout from Azkaban.