Harry Potter and the Guild of the Night

Chapter 5

"No. No! NO! NO! NO!" Harry yelled as he backed away from Master Nhean. He stumbled on the uneven ground and fell, his cane slipping from his hand. He curled up in a ball, still chanting that negative.

Master Nhean watched this with compassion and summoned a house elf. "Please fetch Remus Lupin for me or, if he is unable to come, Professor McGonagall," he asked. The elf nodded and vanished. It was back shortly, eyes wide in distress. "I is sorry, Master sir," the little elf squeaked, "but Mr Lupin is most unwell and Professor McGonagall is being called away by the Headmaster."

Nhean sighed; the timing was indeed bad for all. Albus had had to leave the night before on Order business and as last night had been the night of the full moon, Remus' indisposition was to be expected. That Albus had to also call on Minerva did not bode well for whatever the Order business was. He wracked his brains for who else he could call on. Hagrid was still in Europe with Madame Maxime and none of the other teachers still in residence were close enough to Harry to get through to him right now. Nhean froze and a small, curious little smile crept onto his face. Severus had mentioned that he was not unused to reactions such as this. While it was true he and Harry did not get along, he did have experience on his side.

Nhean looked down at the little elf, who was eyeing Harry with a mix of nervousness and concern. "Could you please ask Professor Snape if he could come here?" he asked and the little elf nodded and disappeared. A few minutes later, Professor Snape stalked out of the castle with a thunderous expression on his face. He came to stop when he saw Harry curled up on the ground and a number of complex emotions crossed his face. He walked over to Master Nhean and returned the Night Master's nod.

"Thank you for coming, Severus," Nhean said quietly. "As you can see, I think I need your help."

Snape's lips thinned and he watched as Harry started rocking, his chanting becoming softer. "Surely Minerva or Lupin would have been a better choice," he asked.

"Probably," Nhean said mildly, "but neither are available. Remus must truly be feeling unwell and Minerva has been called out by Albus. I was left with you and you mentioned obliquely the other night that you are not without experience with this sort of thing. I am not close enough to Harry to be able to get him out of this."

"Potter and I are hardly friends," Snape snapped.

"I am aware of that," Nhean said patiently, "but you do know him far better than I. Will you help him?"

Snape glared at Nhean and strode over to where Harry lay on the ground. As he knelt down he could hear Harry chanting to himself. He paused to try and make some sense of it.

"No, no, no, no...Sirius...watch out, Bellatrix there...NO! SIRIUS!" Harry gasped. "No, no, no, no...No, Uncle Vernon, please, I'm sorry, I didn't know...Pig!"

Severus grimaced. Sirius bloody Black and the beating from his Uncle, he thought to himself. He reached out and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and shook him gently. "Potter," he said.

Harry whimpered and drew himself into a tighter ball. Severus sighed in exasperation. Trust Harry Potter to make things difficult. He shook Harry gently once more but again this only prompted the boy to draw himself further inwards. He sighed again and shifted himself around to a position where he could draw the boy out of his curl. This action brought Harry back to himself a little and Severus saw the boy's bottom lip start to quiver. Harry sucked in a deep breath and seemed to be trying to get himself back under control. Severus was determined to stop this and thought back to how they had found Harry and what he had found out both that night and subsequently about Harry's upbringing. Finally acknowledging that perhaps he had misjudged the boy and that maybe it was time he stopped assuming that the boy was like his father, Severus drew in a deep breath and pulled Harry into his arms. He started slowly rocking Harry back and forth and tried to aim for a paternal tone.

"It's alright, Harry," Snape said quietly, "let it out."

Harry stiffened as he realised who held him but the quiet, almost caring tone of his professor's voice seemed to be what did the trick. The thought that even the professor that hated him the most cared enough about him to help him was his undoing and he broke down in tears. As he wept into Snape's black robes, the Potions Master rocked him back and forth and muttered calming words to him.

Nhean watched the two of them, pleased and surprised that Severus had been able to get through to Harry. He made a small motion with one hand to gain Snape's attention and gestured to ask if he should remain. Snape shook his head and Nhean quietly made his way back to the castle, only pausing to pick up Harry's cane and place it next to the Potions Master.

Gradually Harry's tears began to slow and he stopped gasping for breath. When they finally stopped he raised his head and asked, "Why?"

Severus sighed and considered the rather complex question he had just been asked. "Because no one deserves what was done to you by your Uncle," he said neutrally. "Because you are not to blame for Black's death." He sighed again and said somewhat reluctantly, "Because I was wrong to assume you were a carbon copy of your father."

Harry nodded and sniffed. He moved away from Snape a little and the Potions Master helped him to sit properly on the ground. Snape picked up Harry's cane and handed it to him. Harry's hands curled protectively around the cane as Snape said simply, "Tell me."

Harry took a deep breath. "I hate this!" he half-yelled, "I hate feeling so bloody helpless! I hate not being able to see! I hate my Uncle for doing this to me!" Harry voice began to rise in anger. "I hate Aunt Petunia and Dudley for not stopping him or helping me!" Harry quivered and then he yelled in anguish, "I hate Sirius for dying! Why did he have to die? It was my mistake; I should have been the one!" Harry collapsed against Snape and wept again.

Snape put one arm around Harry and began the task of rebuilding the boy. "There is nothing wrong with hating your situation," he said calmly. "You would be unusual if you did not. I see nothing wrong with hating your Uncle. What he did was abuse, plain and simple. No matter what stress he was under, that does not excuse or mitigate his behaviour." Snape paused to see if his words were getting through to the boy. From the way his tears were trailing off, it seems they were. "As for your Aunt and cousin, do you know whether they tried to stop your Uncle or help you?" Harry shook his head. "Then I'd reserve judgement on them until you know. It may be they tried."

Severus stopped and sighed. He did not like Sirius Black at all and had struggled to regret the hairy idiot's death. But it was clear that his death was what was haunting Potter the most, along with his feelings of responsibility for it.

"Black's death was not your fault," he said through gritted teeth. "While gallivanting off to the Department of Mysteries like that was undoubtedly one of the more stupid things you have done, nobody forced Black to come after you. In fact, the Headmaster and Lupin urged him to remain at Grimmauld Place. Black made his own decisions and he must bear the responsibility for them, not you." Snape paused. "And I am sure that you do not hate that damn dog."

Harry sat up again and gave a weak laugh. "You know I think that's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say about Sirius," he said.

Snape snarled half-heartedly, it was true after all. He scowled at Harry but stopped when he realised how totally ineffective that tactic was now. "Indeed," he said dryly. "Potter, while your self-sufficiency is admirable, it is completely inappropriate at most times. Did it not occur to you to speak to Lupin about this?"

"I...I..." Harry stammered, "I thought he had enough to deal with. I mean, he knew Sirius better than I did. I didn't want to be a burden."

"Then I suppose it has also never occurred to you that that is the job of an adult," Snape said with some exasperation, "to deal with the problems of children?"

"I..well, I guess not," Harry said lamely.

"I rather suspected that," Snape said with asperity. "Contrary to your experiences with your former guardians, you can trust adults with your problems. Perhaps if you chose to talk things over with Lupin or the Headmaster or Professor McGonagall or any adult really, you might have made some different decisions during the last school year. Do not think I do not know what went on during your detentions with that idiot woman Umbridge."

Harry flinched at the reminder of those detentions and he quickly covered the hand that still had the thin lines spelling out 'I must not tell lies' on it.

"Yes, that punishment," Snape continued relentlessly, "Had you gone to Professor McGonagall or the Headmaster or any teacher at the school, we would have had a good chance at getting rid of that woman. But as no student came forward, we could do nothing."

"But I didn't think you would have been able to do anything," Harry said in surprise.

"Fool boy," Snape snapped. "Not even that idiot Fudge would have been able to defend the use of a quill like that." He scowled. "Those quills are considered dark magic and were meant to have all been destroyed. How she got hold of one I can only guess."

Harry's shoulders slumped and he began to silently berate himself, loading even more guilt onto his own shoulders. Snape watched this with annoyance. He had never been able to understand Potter's absurd insistence in taking the blame for the actions of all and sundry.

"Stop that," he snapped and Harry flinched. Snape sighed and his voice became gentler. "Stop blaming yourself for everything that happens in the wizarding world. Let people take responsibility for their actions and worry about your own. You have more than enough to worry about without adding other people's loads to yours."

Snape stood and brushed off his robes. He held out his hand and said, "Now, give me your hand and I will take you in to see Lupin. He is probably worrying himself over you since he was unable to come."

Harry nodded and reached out. Snape grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. He steadied Harry and turned him towards the castle. "Do you need any help?" he asked.

"Erm, yes sir," Harry said and then continued with a little trepidation. "If I could take your arm, sir, that would be best."

Snape harrumphed and guided Harry's hand to his arm and began to lead him back to the castle. "I trust you will not continue this habit of keeping things to yourself?" he said archly.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied quietly and Snape shot him a quick glance. The boy seemed fairly depressed but from experience he knew that was perfectly normal and that only time would help with that.

They were both quiet as Snape lead Harry back to the suite he was now sharing with Remus. Snape could see that the boy was thinking and was inclined to leave him to it. They reached the portrait door to the suite and Harry spoke the password, "Golden snitch." Snape continued to lead Harry through to Remus' room. He was reluctant to leave the boy until he was sure that he was with somebody. Potter would be somewhat fragile just now and would need have an eye kept on him.

He knocked on Lupin's door, opened it at the werewolf's acknowledgement and was unexpectedly forced to give a startled gasp.

"Sir?" Harry asked, suddenly worried.

"It's alright, Harry," Remus called out to him, "There's nothing wrong, I just...don't look that well." In truth, the werewolf looked terrible; his face was drawn and grey and his hands were visibly shaking even when placed flat on the bedspread. "It seems that an unexpected side effect of the Wolfsbane potion is that if you stop taking it, the change becomes...so much worse," he said wanly.

Harry broke away from Snape and made his way as quickly as he could to Remus' bedside and sat down on the edge of the bed, his face worried. Snape looked at the werewolf, his facial expression almost bordering on concerned.

"I...apologise, Lupin," he said stiffly, "I shall ensure that I always have sufficient ingredients available in the future." He nodded briefly to the startled-looking Lupin and withdrew from the room.

"Huh, that was odd," Remus said to Harry with surprise.

"Yeah, I guess," Harry replied glumly.

Remus eyed Harry and chewed on his bottom lip. The young man sitting on the side of his bed looked miserable and defeated, his blind eyes staring blankly at the floor. "So, Master Nhean was right," he said quietly.

"Huh?" Harry said in surprise.

"Master Nhean was worried about you," Remus explained. "You were unnerving him with how well you were coping and he thought perhaps you were hiding things." Remus paused. "Harry, why didn't you say something to me? Write a letter? Anything!"

Harry opened his mouth and then closed it again, tears welling up in his eyes. "I...I thought you had enough on your plate," he said miserably. "I didn't want to worry you."

Remus sighed and crawled around in his bed until he was sitting cross-legged next to Harry, ignoring the protests of his aching body and swallowing down the nausea. He hadn't realised what effect his own preoccupation had had on Harry. He had been so caught up in his misery over Sirius' death he had almost forgotten that Harry had lost a godfather. He put one arm around Harry's shoulders and vowed to do better by his best friend's son.

"Alright, Harry," he said firmly, "I think we need to make a promise to each other. No more hiding things. And I think under the circumstances, you get to start first."

Harry gave a wan half-smile. "Okay, Remus," he said. "Where do you want me to start?"

"How about with the Dursleys and your life there and just go onwards up until now," he said. "I was already planning to have my meals sent here today. I'm sure they'll add yours to it." Remus gave Harry's shoulders a quick squeeze. "We've got all day if you want and all night as well if it comes to that."

Harry drew in a shuddering breath and started talking. And he kept talking. He spoke about his early life with the Dursleys, about what happened when he got his letter and how weird and confusing it had felt to find out he was famous in the wizarding world. He spoke about his first year at Hogwarts, how great it had been to have such good friends, how hard it had been to fit in and all that had happened with the Philosopher's Stone. He spoke about how hard it had been to go back to the Dursleys and how they had reacted to having him back. He spoke about the Weasleys' rescue mission and how much fun it had been to stay at the Burrow.

He spoke about his second year, about Gilderoy Lockhart, about hearing that voice and finding out he was a Parselmouth, about how most of his schoolmates had turned on him, thinking he was the heir of Slytherin, how much that had hurt and what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets. He spoke about having to return again to the Dursleys and about blowing up Aunt Marge and running away and the fright seeing what he thought was Grim but was actually Sirius. He spoke about overhearing the Weasleys talking about Sirius and Mr Weasley's warning. He spoke about how much the Dementors affected him and what he heard when they were near. He spoke about how much they'd like having Remus as their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, how much they had learned from him. He spoke about that overheard conversation between Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, Minister Fudge, Rosmerta and Professor Flitwick. He spoke about Professor Trelawney's second prophecy and about what had happened in the Shrieking Shack. He spoke about how happy he had been at Sirius' offer of a new home and how he had felt when everything had fallen apart. He spoke about Hermione's Time Turner and how he thought it was his father across the other side of the lake.

He spoke about the misery he'd felt having to return yet again to the Dursleys when he'd almost had something better. He spoke about how much fun he'd had at the Quidditch World Cup and what had happened afterwards. He spoke about the Triwizard Tournament and how hurt he'd felt that Ron hadn't believed him. He spoke about his mixed feelings about the tasks; how he had been terrified and completely unprepared, how Hermione, Ron, Dobby and the others had helped him, how exhilarating it had been to succeed. He spoke about the third task and what had happened in the graveyard, the death of Cedric and his guilt about that, his duel with Voldemort, the Priori Incantatem and the 'ghosts' that had helped him. He spoke about his frustration at being stuck at the Dursleys yet again and not being told anything and about the Dementor attack. He spoke about 12 Grimmauld Place and how great it had been to see Sirius again but how confused he had been the entire year with the way Sirius had acted. He spoke about the trial and how he felt about the Ministry in general.

He spoke about returning to Hogwarts and the reactions of his fellow students and the appearance of Umbridge. He spoke about his detentions with the DADA teacher and his formation of the DA. He spoke about his Occlumency lessons and the dreams and visions that had prompted them, about how frustrated and angry he had felt for most of the year and how it had hurt to have Professor Dumbledore practically ignore him. He spoke about his increasing frustration about not being told about anything that was going on.

He paused for a long time before he started speaking about the vision Voldemort had sent him about Sirius being tortured. He spoke about how he had tried to contact him but had only got Kreacher, about how Snape had appeared to ignore him in Umbridge's office when he tried to tell him, how Hermione had gotten them free and how she and Ron, along with Ginny, Neville and Luna had refused to let him go to the Ministry on his own. He spoke about how angry and stupid he had felt when he realised it had all been a trick and how they had fought the Death Eaters. He spoke about the fight in the Ministry and how he had felt when Sirius fell through the Veil. He spoke about his chase after Bellatrix, how he had felt and how he used Cruciatus against her. He spoke about Dumbledore's battle with Voldemort and how the Dark Lord had tried to possess him. He spoke about his rage and his tantrum in Dumbledore's office, how he had yelled at the Headmaster, how he had reacted to finding out the prophecy. He spoke about the last few weeks of the school year and how hard it had been.

It was evening before he finally fell silent, voice hoarse and mouth dry. He and Remus sat there for a while; both deep in thought and the only sounds in the room came from the crackling of the fire. Harry was surprised to find that he was feeling a lot better. He felt oddly lighter, as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He still felt miserable and angry and bitter and confused but somehow those feelings seemed smaller and more manageable now. He hadn't been sure that he was going to be able to tell Remus much of anything but once he'd started it all just seemed to come pouring out and he hadn't been able to stop.

For his part, Remus was struggling to keep the wolf leashed. He had never known just what Harry had been through, not just at the Dursleys but also at Hogwarts. "I...They...She," he sputtered before taking a deep breath in order to calm down enough to get a full sentence out. "Harry, why didn't you tell anyone this?" he asked in shock.

Harry's head drooped and Remus mentally kicked himself. He took another deep breath and wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders. "I'm sorry, that was a stupid question to ask," he said.

"No, I guess it wasn't really," Harry said quietly. "I mean, Sn...Professor Snape has already said that..." Harry paused and tried to remember the exact words. "That my self-sufficiency is admirable but completely inappropriate at most times. Or something along those lines."

Remus chuckled, inwardly surprised at the comment and how accurate it was. "He has a point, though I probably wouldn't have put it that way. Anyway, my question was stupid. You didn't tell an adult because you didn't know whether you could trust us."

"I...no, that's not it," Harry said in surprise then stopped and thought. "Well, yeah, I suppose it might be that. I guess I just thought that every adult was like the Durlseys. I mean, during the holidays after third year when my scar started hurting, I couldn't think who to tell at first. I couldn't tell Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, they wouldn't have cared. I didn't want to disturb Professor Dumbledore. I didn't really want to tell Ron and Hermione because I knew what their reaction would be and I didn't want that right then." Harry rolled his eyes, which Remus thought an odd gesture. Then he swallowed a grin as he realised that Harry was likely to continue with little things like that even though his sight was gone. Habits tend to be hard to break. He told himself to stop wool gathering as Harry continued.

"It took me ages to think of asking Sirius," he said self-deprecatingly. "I guess I just wasn't used to having an adult I could tell. Because that's what I wanted, you know? An adult I could tell."

"Why did you think you would be disturbing Professor Dumbledore?" Remus asked quizzically. "Surely you know he wouldn't think something like your scar hurting was trivial?"

Harry looked a little shamefaced. "I...I don't know," he said softly. "I guess I just didn't want a fuss made over it."

Remus sighed. It was at times like this he wondered how Severus could believe that Harry wanted or enjoyed his fame. He grinned a little after a moment; then again, Severus and Harry did have a tendency to bring out the worst in each other. It was at this point that he realised that as Severus had been the one to bring Harry back to the suite, it must have been he who Nhean had summoned. Remus frowned and looked down at the downcast boy by his side.

"Harry? Why did Professor Snape bring you back here?" he asked.

"Well, when I..." Harry stopped and shrugged a reluctant shoulder. "When I , well, you know, well, Professor Snape was the one who got me out of it." Harry frowned and thought back to what had happened. "He was...I don't know...nice...for Snape. He seemed to know what to say and do. I don't know, it was kind of weird but he wasn't nasty or anything." Harry gave a lopsided grin. "He made a few snide comments but he wouldn't be Snape if he didn't do that. He was even polite about Sirius." Harry laughed softly. "He kind of helped me and yelled at me at the same time."

Remus laughed, pleased that the surly Potions Master had unbent enough to help Harry when he really needed it. He then recalled what Severus had said about having to deal with situations such as this before with students from his house. "So are you going to listen to him," he asked with certain amount of humour.

"Well, I don't normally," Harry said with a smile, "but I think he might be right this time, so I guess I will."

"Good," Remus said. "I know you don't particularly like him, Harry, but he has a lot to teach you if you let him."

"I...I know," Harry said, "I kind of figured part of it out during that first week here. It wouldn't matter even if he did like me, he couldn't show it. As far as the Junior Death Eaters are concerned, he is still loyal to Voldemort. If he treated me nicely somehow I think that Voldemort might get a bit suspicious."

Remus snorted with laughter. "Junior Death Eaters? Where did you come up with that one?"

"Well, they are, aren't they?" Harry said with a smile. "Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Parkinson and a few others. All trying so hard to be like their parents. Stupid, really. Can't they think for themselves?" Harry snorted in disgust.

Remus eyed Harry with a kind of interested respect. "That's a very mature outlook, Harry."

"Yeah, well, I guess my perspective kind of got changed last year," Harry said glumly. "After seeing that stuff in Snape's pensieve, I really didn't want to be like my Dad or Sirius. I mean, I know they weren't always like that and I guess my Dad changed a lot to get my Mum interested in him but still..."

"Don't judge your father or Sirius too harshly," Remus said sadly. He sighed. "There was just something about Severus that brought the worst out of the two of them. They were a touch arrogant," Remus admitted reluctantly, "but they were teenage boys. Your childhood and teenage years are supposed to be the times when you can be stupid without it mattering too much." He was quiet for a moment and then laughed. "And yes, you're right. James did change quite a bit before Lily would even look twice at him. He got his head down to a decent size and stopped just assuming she was going to like him."

Harry looked towards Remus with interest. "How did that happen though? Did...what happened in your sixth year have anything to do with it?"

"Yes, a little," Remus said and leaned back against the wall. He thought back to that terrible night. While he didn't tend to remember the exact details of what happened when he changed, particularly before he started taking the Wolfsbane potion, he did remember the generalities of what he did. He shuddered as he thought how close he had come to killing Severus that night. It was only because even the werewolf wasn't game enough to take on Prongs and that rack of antlers he had that he had gotten away with that one.

"Remus?" Harry asked hesitantly. "What happened that night?"

Remus sighed and closed his eyes. Perhaps Harry should know, he thought, if only to understand why Severus reacts to us the way he does. He looked down to where Harry was sitting, half-smiling at the expression on his face. He clearly thought he had overstepped the boundaries and that he was going to be yelled at.

"I wasn't surprised to hear someone coming down the tunnel," Remus said, almost thoughtfully, "because I was expecting Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail. They always joined me as soon as they could sneak away at night. So I made my way out of the room I usually went to and crouched down by the entrance. It was spelled so that I couldn't open it from inside the Shrieking Shack. I have some vague memories of thinking that the scent wasn't quite right but the door was opened before I could identify exactly who it was."

Remus gave an odd laugh. "It was Severus, of course, and I clearly remember the expression on his face. It was a mix of horror, fear and what I could only describe as a 'hah-I-was-right' look. Then it pretty much became pure fear as he realised that he was facing a werewolf who wasn't pleased to see him. He turned and ran and I started chasing him." Remus stopped at the expression on Harry's face and hurried to reassure him. "Not out of malice, Harry, but for the same reason that any predator will chase prey that runs. For the thrill of the chase. Oh, I probably would have killed him if I'd caught him, at the very least I'd have bitten him but I never got a chance. I was loping along the tunnel after Severus when I had to come to a very sudden halt. I think Severus had fallen or perhaps he had dropped to the ground when he saw Prongs, either way I ended up being faced with a very angry Prongs. Now you might not think a deer could be much threat to a werewolf but in that narrow tunnel I couldn't attack his flanks and I was facing that very impressive rack of antlers that Prongs possessed." Remus paused and laughed. "There was a reason we called him Prongs after all."

"So, he herded me back into the Shrieking Shack, transformed and shut the door in my face. I didn't find out what happened after that until the morning when Professor Dumbledore came to get me. He explained that Severus would not tell any of the students what happened. Prongs was waiting for us in the Entrance Hall and he explained how Severus had gotten there and hustled me off to the Room of Requirement. He knew I'd be angry and he wanted me somewhere private so that I could let off steam. He'd spent the entire night with the Headmaster and Severus so when Sirius came waltzing in with Peter as though nothing had happened, it was the first time he'd had a chance to confront Padfoot about it."

Remus laughed ruefully and ran his hand through his hair. "James was furious with Sirius and believe me, that was a first. He didn't even give Sirius a chance to say anything; he just started yelling at him. And when James finished, I started. Merlin! I'd never been so angry. I could have killed Severus." Remus laughed quietly again. "Not that it had too much of an affect on Sirius. Oh, he was pretty apologetic for about a week, particularly with me. But he refused to apologise to Severus and when he wasn't thinking he'd act as though it was just some huge joke and he was disappointed that we didn't think it was funny." Remus shook his head.

"But that was Sirius; irrepressible and, at times, irresponsible. It was almost impossible to stay angry with him though. It tended to drive us completely around the bend at times but it was part of his unique charm, I suppose," Remus said dryly.

Harry laughed and then sobered. "I guess I can understand why Professor Snape hated him so much then." Harry frowned. "But why wouldn't he apologise? Surely he realised that he'd done something pretty bad?"

"Yes, he did," Remus answered, "but he refused because it was Severus. Sirius could be absolutely pig-headed about some things and Severus was one of those things."

"But why?" Harry persisted.

"Honestly? I don't know. Maybe it was something as simple as hate at first sight, like you and Draco Malfoy." Harry grinned. "Maybe it was because the Snape family has often been associated with the Dark Arts and Sirius, for all his faults, hated the Dark side of magic. Maybe it was just some weird little thing inside Sirius' idiot brain, I don't know."

Harry snorted and Remus gave him a nudge. "Come on, Harry. I think its time both of us got some rest." Harry nodded and pushed his way off the bed. He was half-way out of the room when Remus spoke up. "And Harry? You won't keep things from any of us anymore, will you? You know you can tell me anything?"

Harry turned and gave Remus a sweet smile. "Yeah, Remus, I promise," he said a little tremulously. "Just don't die on me, please."

Remus ignored the aches of his body and jumped out of bed. He wrapped Harry up in a hug and said fiercely, "I'm not going anywhere, I promise!"