Qualms and Connections

Qualms and Connections

*

Chapter 6:

The Family

*

James watched his parents hurrying around, a bit confused by their behaviour. Ever since the news of Remus' death had reached them, they had been on some kind of a slow motion mode. Of course James hadn't expected them to stay depressed about it forever, but he was indeed surprised at the sudden change. What exactly had triggered such an action in his usually so calm parents?

Soon, however, he found himself unable to really care. This wondering fled his mind as soon as his own depression about his friend's unfortunate fate returned. Still considering Remus' death his own fault, James was convinced he couldn't ever be happy again.

Therefore he found it quite insulting when his mother suddenly appeared into his room, bright and cheerful as ever. "Why are you sulking in here?" Alanna asked him. "Do come and help us!"

Now, James just stared at her, shocked. "What's wrong with you? My friend's dead, and it's because of me, and you wouldn't even let me be upset?!" he yelled, enraged as well as sad.

Alanna, however, looked surprised. "Do you mean we didn't remember to tell you?" As he looked confused, she exclaimed, "Oh, I'm so sorry, dear! I guess we were just too excited. You see, Molly Weasley sent us an owl. She had found Remus and Severus, Alive! The boys had framed their deaths!"

James' eyes flew wide. "Are you serious? Remus is alive?" he asked. "Are you still going to adopt him?"

"Why, of course," his mother replied. "That's why I asked for your help, too. We're now busy with setting up his room for him. He's ill right now, but as soon as he gets better we are going to go to get him."

"Yay!" exclaimed James, excited. "I'll help you with that! I know what he likes so his room will be just great. Just wait until I can tell Sirius and Peter!" He jumped up from his bed, on which he had been sitting, and hugged her tightly, very excited about the good news.

"Seemingly you don't mind not being an only child anymore," Alanna chuckled. "Now, do let go! We both have quite some work to do if we want your new brother to feel at home when he arrives."

So, together the mother and the son went to prepare a room for the future addition to their family. And, for the first time since the news about the fire in the orphanage, James smiled.

*

Remus opened his eyes slowly and carefully. It was bright, almost too much so at first. After his eyes had got used to the light, he saw that he was in a room he'd never seen before. The walls were a creamy colour, as well as the ceiling. The curtains were light blue, exactly the colour of the covers of the bed he was lying on. From the window he saw only the sky, so he figured he was upstairs -- but what house he was in, that he couldn't tell.

There was an unfamiliar boy sitting beside his bed. The boy had red hair, a freckled face, and deep blue eyes watching him intently. As soon as Remus opened his eyes, the strange boy leant back in his chair.

"Good morning, Remus," he said, sounding happy, a broad smile on his face. "It's about the time you woke up. We were becoming a bit worried, you see."

"What -- where I am?" asked Remus, not understanding anything. "Who are you? And -- where's Severus?" Now, he was getting worried. Had Severus disappeared somewhere? He wanted his friend, and he wanted him now; he wanted Severus to be sitting next to his bed instead of this strange boy.

"You are in the Burrow," replied the other boy, a weird look of amusement on his face. "This is the Weasley family home. And as for me, well, I am Morgan Weasley." Then, with a slight, very familiar smirk, he added, "Or Severus Snape, if you prefer that name. I don't."

"What the... Severus?" Remus's head was spinning. This was getting really surreal now. What on Earth was happening here? Since when had Severus been a redhead, for one thing?

"Morgan," corrected his friend cheerfully. "Now, prepare yourself for Mol -- Mother's chicken soup; she's been rather anxious about your well-being. You do want to be on your best when your new family comes to get at you, don't you?"

"My -- my family?" Remus stammered. He didn't understand anything now. What was his friend talking about? Or was this all just some fever hallucination?

"Yeah, the Potters," Severus/Morgan said, grimacing as he said the family name of his old nemesis. "They are still willing to adopt you. From what I've heard, even the boy is not that much against it anymore."

"Goodness... James." Remus would have groaned aloud, had he had the strength to do so. So, he just settled to a weak, "He'll probably hate me now..."

"Didn't I just say that he's no more against the thought of adoption?" replied the redhead, raising an eyebrow. "He knows it's you they were going to adopt. And yes, he knows that you are an orphan, and yes, he knows that you are friends with me. And he's still accepting the fact that you're soon going to be his little brother. In fact, from what I understand, he's actually quite enthusiastic about the whole thing."

Remus nodded slowly, digesting this information. "So, you have been adopted, then?" he asked then.

"Yes, I have," Morgan said in response. "Mother casted an Adoption Charm on me. She applied the appearance parts, as Severus Snape is supposed to be dead and it wouldn't do for Morgan Weasley to look like him. However, despite my advice to the opposite, she let my personality be."

"That's good," Remus said with a smile. "I like your personality just like it is."

"I'll remember that the next time you accuse me of being too nasty to someone," chuckled the other boy. "Anyway, can you wait for a while? You're not allowed to get up yet, and I want to tell the adults that you are awake. I won't stay away for long; I'll be back in just a minute -- most probably with Mother."

The werewolf just nodded at this, a bit surprised at just how natural his friend seemed to be talking about his mother. Considering that neither of them had had a mother ever since they were three, he wouldn't have expected Severus to adjust this well and especially not this quickly. Or how long had it been, exactly?

Therefore, he had a question in mind as Morgan soon returned with a very cheerful, red-haired woman and indeed a bowl of chicken soup. "How long was I out of it?" he asked, trying to eat the soup but to his great annoyance finding his hands shaking too much to keep the soup in the spoon.

"For about two weeks," Severus said levelly, taking both the bowl and the spoon from Remus and starting to feed him a bit at a time. "Mother found us shortly after the full moon. Ever since you have been unconscious. By now, the moon's waxing. We're hoping you'll be up and about before the next full moon."

Remus didn't bother to even nod, concentrating only on eating. Then, however, the woman started to talk.

"Hi, Remus," she said cheerfully. "I am Molly Weasley, Morgan's new mother and a friend of Alanna Potter. It's good to see you are awake at last. The Potters are getting rather impatient to have you; they've had your room ready for almost two weeks now from what I understand." This said, she grasped the soup bowl from the aforementioned boy. "And now, Morgan, you should get some sleep. You must be exhausted. He's stayed by your side most of the time," she added to Remus as an explanation as she began to feed the werewolf instead, oblivious to her adopted son's protests. "He's hardly even slept."

Remus watched as the -- grumbling and protesting, but still obedient -- Morgan exited the room, hopefully to indeed get some sleep. He did look rather tired. "Well, he and I have been the best friends about as long as I can remember," Remus said then. "Ever since we were three and he came to the orphanage where I was already. He just walked to stand next to me, and since then, he's stayed by my side."

"That's good to hear," Molly said, coaxing him to eat some more of her soup. Not that he needed much coaxing; he was starving, and the soup was delicious. "Tell me a bit about yourself, Remus," she then said, smiling warmly as ever. "Alanna wanted me to tell her something about you. They'll come to see you later."

"Well..." Remus hesitated, then started to speak, taking small pauses to eat. "I'm a werewolf... though that you probably know already. I was bitten when I was six... and the nurses at our orphanage of that time locked me out for the night. Only Severus -- er, Morgan saved me from being killed that night... and so I 'only' became a werewolf. I'm rather studious... and quiet, a bookworm, really, though I can... have fun at times, too. My friends at school... are James, Sirius, and Peter, but my best friend of all... is Severus. I really don't know what I'd do without him... We've always stuck together."

"I see." Now, with a bit of mischievous smile, Molly asked, "Say, Remus... Do you like boys or girls? Don't worry," she hastened to say as he looked shocked, "I'm not prejudiced, and neither are the Potters. They'll accept you any way you are. Most of the Wizarding World will, in fact -- true, homosexual couples aren't all that ordinary, but they are certainly more widely accepted than in the Muggle World."

Now, Remus flushed a bit. "I -- I like boys," he confessed. "Or rather... well, I like Severus... but he'd probably hate me for that," he then sighed. "We were bullied back at the orphanage because they thought we were a couple... That's what finally drove Severus to decide to run away."

Molly smiled gently at the boy. "Now, let's see that you eat the rest of your soup," she said. "And don't worry about Severus -- he didn't seem bothered when I told him that one of my uncles lives with a man. Maybe you should just wait for the right moment and tell him what you feel. You might be surprised."

Remus looked doubtful, but didn't say anything. Instead, he just obediently ate the rest of the soup as Molly fed him. At last, the bowl was empty, and the werewolf yawned, still exhausted.

"Now, you need some more rest," Molly said gently. "I'll firecall the Potters and ask them to come for a visit tomorrow; by then you should be well enough for meeting them. Once you're fully recovered, they'll take you to your new home. James especially is anxious to meet you, I've been told."

Remus just yawned again, then closed his eyes. He was asleep before Molly had even walked out of the room. Smiling gently at the sleeping boy, the red-haired witch left the room to check on her own eldest son. For all she knew him, he was most certainly not asleep like he should have been. Well, that would change.

*

James didn't remember the last time he'd been this excited. Today, they would go to see Remus! Sure, they wouldn't take his new brother home yet, as the werewolf was still rather weak and ill, but at least he could talk with his friend. When he'd owled Peter and Sirius, they had both been excited; they had also planned to be there when Remus was finally brought home. It would be a full Marauder reunion!

When they arrived to the Weasleys, his parents started to talk to Molly and Arthur. Seeing his anxiety, however, Molly just smiled a bit, then told him which room Remus was staying in. Thanking her hurriedly, James then ran to meet his friend. Oh, how he had waited for this!

When James opened the door, he saw Remus. The werewolf was lying in bed, looking rather pale and thin, but also happy. By his side lay a red cat, almost exactly the hue of the Weasleys' hair, purring as the small boy petted his fur. As they heard him come in, both the boy and the cat raised their eyes at him. While Remus' eyes widened and he exclaimed, "James!", however, the cat just snorted and closed its eyes again.

"Hi, Remus", James said with a wide grin. "Or should I say little brother?"

"Hi, James," Remus said, a bit shy now that he was finally facing his friend future brother. "Look... I'm sorry for not telling you," he said uneasily. "I just didn't want you guys to hate me..."

"We're your friends!" exclaimed James, taking a seat on the chair next to the bed. "Why'd we hate you? Because you're an orphan? Hey, we didn't care that you're a werewolf, did we?"

"Well, my parents abandoned me," muttered the smaller boy, avoiding his companion's eyes. "I thought you might do that, too... And besides, you all hate Severus. But, really, he's my best friend. He's like my brother, has been ever since we were three. And I'm not giving him up."

"You don't have to," the bespectacled boy assured him. "Sure, we don't like Snape. However, you obviously do. Although I can't promise I'll like him, I do promise I'll at least try for your sake, and I'm sure Siri and Pete will promise the same thing. Like I said, we're friends -- and Marauders stick together."

Now, Remus' smile turned from wary to warm. "That's nice to hear," he said softly. "I was afraid how you'd react to Severus. He's promised to be on his best behaviour if you don't do anything."

"It's a deal, then." James grinned. Then he asked, "Is it true you won't come to Hogwarts this year?"

Now, Remus nodded. "Molly told us about it this morning," he said. "If we now appeared there, we might be connected to, well, ourselves. Everybody still remembers Remus Lupin and Severus Snape, and if they realized who we really are, it might bring some problems -- or at least unwanted attention. So, for a year we'll stay at home, getting used to our new families and stuff. Then we'll start Hogwarts with our new names, although we'll be one year behind you guys. That way nobody will suspect anything."

"Pity." James pouted a bit. "It's not gonna be as fun without you."

"Oh, don't say that," Remus laughed. "Rather I was the spoilsport, always saying, 'We shouldn't do this,' or, 'But it's forbidden!' Surely you're only happy to be rid of me for a while!"

"Don't you say that," the darkhaired boy said, now suddenly serious. "When I thought you were dead... well, that was the worst I've ever felt in my life. And besides, I thought it was my fault! If it hadn't been for my protests, my parents would have tried harder to make you accept, and may you would've been out of the orphanage by that night! I really thought I'd caused the death of one of my friends!"

"They couldn't have made me change my mind, anyway," Remus told him with a tiny smile. "I wouldn't have left Severus there alone. Those bastards would have killed him."

At this, James' eyebrows flew high. "Just what did you say?" he asked. "Did ickle wickle Remus say a bad word? Woah, I didn't even realize just how bad influence we've been on you!"

At that, Remus flushed a bit. "It's not your influence, it's Severus'," he explained. "He's never been too careful with his mouth." And then, he continued to talk, and James listened, and asked questions, and talked back. After a while he started to pet the cat's fur, at the same time eager to find out more about this side of his friend. He'd never known anything about Remus' childhood, but was determined to learn.

Suddenly, a sharp voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Do I pet your hair, Potter?" asked nastily the redheaded boy lying on the bed next to Remus -- the boy whose hair he had truly been petting. James pulled his hand quickly away, and glanced warily around. Where had the cat disappeared to? Where had the boy come from? Who was he? And how come James hadn't noticed anything?

"That was nasty," scolded Remus, shooting a sharp glance at the boy's direction.

"Well, he's been nasty to me for as long as we've known each other," replied the boy carelessly, shrugging as he sat up on the edge of the bed. "Don't worry, I'll behave. But I do believe he deserved at least one little scare." Then he directed his sharp blue eyes at James. "Morgan Weasley, in your service," he said mockingly. "Or, as you previously knew me, Severus Snape."

"Snape?" asked James, bewildered. Then he asked disbelievingly, "Are you an Animagus?"

"Why, yes, I am," the red-haired boy replied smugly. "And no, you can't get me into trouble for it; I've already been registered... well, three days ago, but that hardly matters, now does it? And before you can ask," he continued, "I wanted to learn it so that I could stay with Remus on full moons. A werewolf only attacks humans, you see; as a cat, I can safely stay with him."

"I never thought I'd say this to you, but... that's pretty damn impressive," James stated, half in genuine adoration, half in determination to respect his promise to Remus to try to get along with his former nemesis. "Do you think I could learn that, too? And Sirius and Peter?"

"Well, you probably could, if you're prepared to work hard and long," replied Morgan, raising an eyebrow. "And as for Black, why not? He's a rather accomplished student, much as it pains me to admit that. But as for Pettigrew... Well, I won't promise anything about him. Not likely, though, I'd say."

"You have to teach us!" James announced. "I want to be with my brother when he transforms!" He grasped Remus' hand, holding it possessively. The werewolf looked a bit startled as Morgan took his other hand. For a moment Remus actually feared he would become the object of a tug of war.

"Well, I want to be with my friend when he transforms," said Morgan coolly, seemingly just as possessive of the young werewolf. "My best friend. Who's practically a brother to me. Whom I've known ever since we were three. If I had to learn on my own, why on Earth should I teach you?"

"Please, Morgan?" Remus pleaded, now coming back to the conversation. As both other boys turned to stare at him, he continued, "I just thought that if you studied Animagia together, you might learn to get along a bit better. And besides, if there were more Animagi around during the full moon, maybe I could retain more of my human mind." A tiny pout appeared on his face, and he used his best puppy eyes. "Please?"

With a bit desperate chuckle, Morgan shielded his eyes with an arm. "Begone, evil," he laughed. "Sure, I'll teach your dear big brother if you insist. However, do not expect us to get along beyond not fighting."

As Remus now looked at him, he was beaming with happiness. "I could never ask for more!"

*