One Shot: Betrayal at the Willow

[author_by_night]

I wrote this ages ago, but never posted it. It's a Harry Potter one shot partly based on JKR's backstory for Remus and his parents.

Title: Betrayal at the Willow

Fandom: Harry Potter

Characters: Remus, James, Peter, Sirius, Lyall Lupin, Hope Lupin

Summary: When Lyall finds out his son was used as a key tool in a horrible prank, he questions his son's future at Hogwarts.

Lyall and Hope didn’t look at one another as they made their way to the castle. They were used to Remus being in some trouble, but it merited only a note home, not a request to visit Hogwarts at once (and details so Hope would be able to see it upon arrival). Their conversation was unfinished and stilted.

Hope let out a shuddering breath. “Last night was a-”

Lyall nodded. “I know. I always know.”

“You don’t think he…”

“We’d know.”

“How? Would The Daily Prophet…”

“He’d come home immediately if that happened.”

“No, Lyall, he’d…”

“He wouldn’t run away.”

“Remus threatened once before.”

“Don’t all boys?”

“Not all boys are like him.”

They made their way to Dumbledore’s office, standing on the rising staircase and knocking on his magnificent door.

“Whatever you do, don’t get angry,” Hope cautioned Lyall. “That’s never done any of us favors.”

“You’re bringing that up now?”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean - I didn’t think-”

Lyall knew she didn’t. She also didn’t know he still thought about it every day.

Dumbledore opened the door; his face was grave.

“Come in,” he said.

Next to his desk was Minerva McGonagall, who looked furious. Behind it were seven people - a young woman next to Sirius who resembled him (a cousin, perhaps?), James and his parents, and Remus. Perhaps out of desperation, Lyall looked for a sign of humor in all of them, for a stolen glance of “now we’re in for it,” a sort of invisible high five.

Instead, there was nothing. The only stolen glance was a most disturbing glare from Remus to Sirius - so uncharacteristic it scared Lyall. Otherwise, the boys stared at the floor.

“Are you okay?” Lyall asked his son.

“You didn’t have to come,” Remus mumbled. “I’m okay.”

“They need to know what  happened,” Dumbledore told him.

“Here?”

“Yes. You did nothing wrong, but it is important for the guardians of all involved to hear this. Together.  They all appear to be aware of your circumstances.”

“Wait, how does she know?” Remus asked Sirius, nodding at the woman next to him. “Did you reckon she’d be lunch meat too?”

“What? No!  We were talking about Dark Creatures, and it - it came up.”

Lunch meat? Lyall didn’t like the sounds of this.

“Mr. Black and another student had an altercation yesterday evening,” Dumbledore said. “Unfortunately, this resulted in him telling the boy -”

“-I don’t want you to say it in front of them,” Remus interrupted, still not looking at his parents.

“We’re already here,” Hope told him. “Whatever it is, we’re not mad at you, okay?”

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” Remus said. “I didn’t do anything. James reckons he saw me, but I never-”

“SAW you?” Hope gasped.

“Yes,” Dumbledore said. “It appears Mr. Black told the boy how to find Mr. Lupin during a full moon.”

The woman next to Sirius recoiled in surprise; James’s parents exchanged looks; Remus had buried his head in his hands.

Lyall snapped up, and without thinking, lunged himself at the tall teenager, cursing all the while; Hope and Dumbledore both restrained him. The boy hadn’t made any motions to defend himself, which made Lyall more angry.

"He used my son as BAIT!” Lyall yelled. “Do you know what would have happened if the boy had - if he tells anyone-”

“He has reassured me that he won’t,” Dumbledore said calmly. “I daresay he won’t want the school knowing he was foolhardy anyway.”

“I’m sorry,” Sirius told Lyall. “I didn’t mean for it to get so out of control…”

“Then what did you mean?” The woman next to him demanded. "I can't believe you'd stoop so low!"

“Andromeda, Snape was talking to Regulus about Death Eaters! Can you blame me? I snapped, Remus wasn’t supposed to get in the
middle of it-”

Remus lifted his head. “So I ended up in the forefront?”

“Moony-”

“Don’t call me that,” Remus said in an uncharacteristically angry voice.

“How did this… Snape boy get away?” Andromeda asked.

Dumbledore’s gaze turned to James’s parents. “Your son pulled him away. We have no reason to believe he - nor his friend Peter - were involved. Indeed, it seems as soon as he heard what Sirius had done, James risked his life to save Snape’s while Peter fetched Professor McGonagall.”

“See? Prongs is a hero now,” Sirius said with a playful wink.

Remus jumped up. “HE ALMOST DIED, SIRIUS! BY MY HANDS!”

Sirius’s grin vanished. “I know that, I was just trying to lighten up the-”

“Not everything has to be a joke,” James said.

“Prongs-”

“Yeah, stop using our nicknames.”

Sirius’s face fell altogether; Lyall was almost pleased, but it wasn’t enough.

“I expect he’ll be expelled, then?” Lyall asked Dumbledore.

“Your son was not at fault.”

“I meant Walburga Black’s son.” Lyall looked at the young man pointedly so he would grasp his full meaning.

“That decision will be left up to me,” Dumbledore told him. “Not you. I just thought you deserved to hear the truth.”

Lyall stood up. “I have to say, Professor Dumbledore, I thought we had your word that this kind of event would never transpire.”

“Dad, don't blame him,” Remus said firmly. “I told them how to find me.”

“Why?” Hope asked. “Why on earth would they need to know?”

James said quickly (almost as though he'd planned it all out), "with everything that’s happen, we wanted to be able to protect him during a Full Moon. You know, if…” James trailed off. “It was my idea. I didn’t think Sirius would turn on us like this.”

Sirius looked crestfallen now.

“Well, I’m glad Remus still has some friends,” Hope said, with a pointed glare at Sirius.

“Friends? Knowing that lot, they loved the idea of having to sneak a werewolf out of Death Eater reach,” Lyall said coldly. “I very much doubt that’s the end of it!”

“Dad-” Remus began.

“I don’t need to know if there’s anything else,” Lyall told him. He had a feeling there was, but it didn’t matter anymore. “Remus, get your things.”

Remus looked confused. “What?”

“Get your things. It’s apparent you’re no longer safe here either.”

“Lyall, calm down,” Hope reproached him.

Lyall turned to her. “Calm down? Do you know what would happen had Remus killed this - this peer of his? If we were lucky, they’d send him to Azkaban. If we were lucky. Go ahead and spew your guts out, boy,” Lyall snapped at Sirius as his face turned green. “Hell, I’m scared to death this’ll still get out, and if it does, I want him to be home so we can leave the country.”

“Dumbledore wouldn’t let that happen,” Remus said. “It’s okay, I’m safe here.”

“I don’t think you are, actually. Collect your things and meet me at the entrance of Hogwarts.”

“Dad-”

“Exactly. Dad. You can keep all the secrets you want from me, you can trust the wrong people and do God knows what with your friends, but I am still your father, and I say we are leaving.”

“You can’t do this!” Sirius exclaimed.

“DON’T YOU DARE DEFEND ME!” Remus yelled. “DON’T YOU DARE SIT THERE ACTING LIKE I’VE GOT DETENTION! MY FATHER IS RIGHT - I ALMOST KILLED SOMEONE, THANKS TO YOU! HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF I USED YOU TO MAKE YOUR COUSIN BELLATRIX KILL SOMEONE, AND ALMOST GOT JAMES KILLED IN THE PROCESS? YOU’D HATE ME, WOULDN’T YOU?”

Sirius didn’t say anything.  Lyall had never heard that much anger and hate in his son’s voice; he wondered where the little boy had gone…

But there was no time for that now.

Remus turned back to Hope and Lyall. “I’ll meet you at the entrance in ten minutes. If I’m not there, it’s because Snape’s told the Ministry of Magic anyway, in which case I’ll meet you at the Wizengamot."

“I’ll help you,” James said.

Remus hesitated, then nodded. Sirius made to follow them, but James shook his head slowly and shut the door.

“Lyall-” Dumbledore began.

“You let us down, Headmaster,” Lyall said coldly.

Lyall made his way towards the entrance, Hope following him very quickly.

“Is this really wise?” She asked.

“No, but he’s not safe here anymore.”

“He still has James… James risked his life, Lyall. And it seems Peter wasn’t involved at all.”

“As long as Sirius Black still attends this school, I don’t want Remus in it. Besides, Hope, how do we know Peter or James wouldn’t have done it? We didn’t think Sirius was capable either. They clearly think it’s a joke.”

“Well, they know it’s not one now…”

“They’ll forget. Boys like these always forget. They hurt birds, get reproached, feel horrid - then the next week they’re back at it, hurting innocent animals for fun.”

“Those types of boys don’t generally befriend werewolves,” Hope pointed out.

“He’s not attending Hogwarts anymore, and that’s final. I’ll look at other schools, Beauxbatons has a new headmistresses who is supposedly quite open minded. Word underground is she’s got giant blood.”

“He doesn’t speak a word of French.”

Right now, this was merely a minor detail to Lyall.

Remus soon joined them at the entrance; James and Peter were helping him with his things.

“I’ll… see you this summer?” James looked at Remus hopefully.  Remus uttered a noncommittal sound.

“If you do come back, we’re not speaking to Sirius ever again,” Peter added.

“Don’t be stupid, ‘course you are,” Remus said. “And you should. You’ll have more freedom now, I expect.”

James and Peter both looked very sad.

“We really are grateful,” Hope told James. “For  everything. If you hadn’t… we don’t blame either of you. Right, Lyall?”

Lyall said nothing, so Hope added quietly, “he’ll be okay once he calms down.”


Peter and James nodded.

In the days that followed, very little was said. Remus agreed that if he got accepted, he’d go to Beauxbatons. There were schools that in more progressive parts of the wizarding world that might have taken him, but they were too far away for Lyall’s liking. In the meantime, Remus was practicing magic at home - Lyall knew from the lack of warning letters that Dumbledore must not have notified the Ministry of his departure from school.

Towards the end of the week, Lyall decided he’d better look at schools besides Beauxbatons after all, because Remus's knowledge and skill would be a horrible thing to waste. So while Remus was with a friend of Lyall’s practicing Potions, Lyall and Hope went to Diagon Alley and returned with books on various schools. He was surprised to see none other than Sirius Black at the door.

“You can’t come in,” Hope said immediately. “Remus isn’t home.”

“And even if he were,” Lyall added, “you’re the last person he wants to see.”

“I know. Believe me, I know. Even Peter and James aren’t speaking to me, and they shouldn’t be. I did something horrible, and when I say I regret it-”

Hope let out a cat-like hiss. “Regret it? You nearly ruined our son’s life.”

“I know. Nobody hates me more than me. I know that sounds stupid, but I mean it. I’m scared of myself. They’re all better off  with it this way.” Sirius shuddered. “But this isn’t about me, for once in my life. It’s about Remus.”

“I’m glad you finally realize that,” Lyall said.

“He needs Hogwarts, Mr. Lupin. I remember him his first day. He looked so pathetic and lonely, like he’d never had a friend in his life. He didn’t talk to anyone. James and I forced conversation out of him, and suddenly he was… well, the person he is now.”

Lyall knew this was true; when he’d come home that Christmas, Lyall had instantly seen the young boy he’d known before the bite. Judging from Hope’s expression, she knew it too.

“I don’t care if Remus never speaks to me again. I don’t care if he never speaks to any of us again, although it wouldn’t be fair of him to blame James and Peter when they’re on his side, not mine. But he’s happy at Hogwarts, and I don’t want him to lose that because of my mistakes.”

“Right,” Hope said. “And why should we believe you’re remorseful?”

“If I'm not careful, I'll get expelled from Hogwarts. And yet I created a Portkey just to come here.”

With that, Sirius picked up a hat and disappeared.

Lyall knew Sirius was telling the truth. He also knew that as horrible as Sirius had been… well, he certainly seemed remorseful.  Besides, had Lyall really done much better? It was his fault Remus was in this predicament, after all.

“Let’s talk,” Lyall said to Hope.

An hour later, Remus returned from his lesson. Lyall motioned for Remus to sit, which he did.

“Your Mum and I have been talking,” Lyall said, “and we’ve decided that if you’re ready… you may return to Hogwarts.”

Remus hesitated, and Lyall could see he was fighting a grin. “I’d like that. But only if you’re okay with it.”

“What class should you be in?” Lyall asked.

“Herbology.”

“Then you’d better hurry. I don’t think Professor Sprout likes it when students are tardy.”

Remus smiled, and while Lyall was still unsettled, he knew he had to put this behind him and let Remus return.

His friends had made their mistakes, to be sure, but even at the worst of times, they appeared to have his back. What more could a
father hope for under the circumstances?

Comments

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

This is great :D

[akashasheiress.livejournal.com]

Love it! :)

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

Great fic! Obviously a well-trodden path, but your version feels more real than a lot of the ones I've read, that don't involve any parents.

[ladydragon76.livejournal.com]

Hello, I wanted to let you know that your LJ is one that is being stolen from by the person running http://fanfic-journal.com/

Despite multiple people telling them they have no right under CCL to steal our intellectual property, they refuse to stop. Right now, as me and others dig for the proper way to shut them down, we can only warn people they've stolen from and let you know that you can complain, and they seem to be removing entries. This person actually said to me in response to me saying what they were doing was wrong:

“and why not? Until they explicit deny it, i have all right to do anything. Its basic freedom rights of peoples. If you dont want to you fanfic been read or copied, dont make it public.”

They then edited that comment because CLEARLY they know they’re in the wrong, but I’ve got the email in case anyone wants a screencap. The thing is, they aren’t going to stop.

If you wish to complain you can go here:

http://fanfic-journal.com/complain-here/

Be clear because they are slimy. Request they delete all your entries and never copy any more.

Best wishes, and sorry to be the bearer of bad news.