Chapter Text
“So what’s for dinner?” Sirius Black asked as he rested his head in his hand, absentmindedly playing with the ear of his teacup as he looked at Remus. His expression was both teasing and smug, but not unkind or mocking. “Chocolate with a dash of your boyfriend?” He continued and reached for the honey, which Remus pushed towards him, saving him from covering the entirety of the table with his body in an attempt to reach the honey jar.
The two of them were having tea in the basement, not too far away from Remus’ werewolf cage, which was hidden away behind a curtain. Their tea was served on an old table with an unreliably unstable leg which threatened to give away with every nudge on said table. Remus would rather not their tea and snack be ruined because the escaped criminal forgot that he was, in fact, heavier as a human than he was as a dog.
Snuffles, that is to say, Sirius in his animagus form, had moved in with Remus and Harry after Remus left Hogwarts. Remus had been more than a little worried about the man staying with them. but he was a dog for the most part, and having him around proved more than a little calming. Snuffles was mostly silent, and seemed to spend most days just relaxing or enjoying his freedom by running around in the garden. Most of all, Snuffles slept a lot, as Sirius was still mentally recovering and didn’t have a lot of energy for extensive periods of time. He was more than happy to sleep next to Remus in his bed when the man was experiencing high levels of anxiety, or snuggle up on the couch to keep him company. Unless he was asked to stop, Snuffles followed Remus everywhere and made sure that he was safe and comfortable. Remus very much suspected his current relationship with Sirius to be the same as a person with a therapy dog. Except the fact that this dog paid for his own food.
Sirius had, during some time between escaping from Azkaban and becoming the Lupin household dog, managed to retrieve a rather large sum of money from Gringotts, which he had used a small portion of to buy and send Harry the Firebolt broom last year. Sirius had given all that money to Remus, stating that he had it hidden away in the Shrieking Shack and that the money was probably happier being with Remus than it was hiding under the floorboards of the Shack. It had been hard to accept it at first, but after Sirius presented the money as rent, Remus had finally agreed. The addition of Sirius' money made it much easier to feed his son, himself, and the new family pet.
Thanks to Dumbledore, Remus' financial situation was stable for the year to come as well. He had been hired to teach Hagrid throughout the summer and the following year, with the plan that Hagrid would be able to get his teacher’s license and begin working as a full time teacher by the beginning of the following autumn term. Remus was getting paid as much as he had been while teaching at Hogwarts, although he suspected that the reason for that was because the payment was coming from Dumbledore’s own pocket, and the old wizard had money to spare.
All in all, it wasn’t so bad to live with Sirius, and it did feel good that the broken animagus and escaped criminal badly needed his help and presence too. Sirius had gotten a lot better compared to the state he had been in when they had met again for the first time in twelve years. The animagus spent most of his time in his preferred shape of a dog, but when he did change back into his human shape, it was evident that his health had improved. His bones were no longer visible through his skin, and his cheeks no longer hollowed. His skin had become less dry, his teeth were no longer yellowed, and his hair and beard were not dirty, tangled, or tattered.
The biggest sign of improvement was the man’s eyes. They were alive with happiness and mischief, rather than only filled with misery and madness. Remus had been somewhat worried that his friend’s improvement would make him hard to deal with, as Sirius has been a very demanding man throughout most of his life, but twelve years in Azkaban had humbled him greatly. He didn’t really ask for anything, and when he did make requests, or teased Remus about something, he didn't do it with malice or cruelty, but friendly familiarity. It was with such familiarity that Sirius spoke to him about Severus Snape, referring to the man as Remus' boyfriend, not with the intention to hurt anyone, but because Remus and Severus were, in fact, dating.
“No, Severus isn’t coming over today.” Remus smiled at his friend, picking up his own cup to have a sip of his tea. “Although I’m sure you’ll see each other soon enough.” He chuckled as Sirius pretended to pout at him, but then quickly joined him in his laughter.
It felt absolutely impossible for Remus to think that he had a partner, that there was a person who liked him enough to want to be with him.
A person who would visit him, speak to him with soft words, and tell him things in the dark which nobody else had the right to hear. A person with whom to share his bed, and snuggle up to and hold. A person who touched his body and heart, and a person whose heart and body he was allowed to touch in return.
Remus’ life had not been exactly pleasant since he was revealed to the world as a werewolf. For so many years, he had feared the reveal and what the world might think of him should his condition be known. It was stressful, and he was more anxious than ever to go anywhere where somebody might recognise him as the former werewolf teacher of Hogwarts, as the news seemed to have spread like fiendfyre, but he was managing surprisingly well with the help of Severus, Sirius, and of course his son Harry. Not to mention that he was very lucky in that the reveal of his condition was pretty quickly overshadowed by the announcement that the Quidditch World Cup would be held in the UK that year, with Ireland competing for the World Cup. The exposing of his condition was very likely to be overshadowed by the news of the Trimagus Tournament which would be held at Hogwarts that year. Remus couldn’t wait to simply become a forgotten note in an old newspaper. Of course, the werewolf doubted that he would ever truly be forgotten, as the news had continuously blown up as much as they had because he was none other than the father of ‘Harry Potter.’
There were days where he felt completely crushed and didn’t want to get out of bed, but he found himself being able to motivate himself to action by thinking of his child’s needs rather than his own. Sirius was of course helping as well, but the thing which motivated him more than anything else was the fact that Severus and he had somehow become a couple. Despite the world knowing of his condition, and shunning him in turn, Severus had somehow given him a chance. It felt absolutely bizarre to think that in a world which rejected him, he was allowed the comfort and companionship of a man who he had come to find himself hopelessly in love with yet again. Perhaps it shouldn’t come as too much a surprise that Severus would accept him where nobody else would, but since Remus had become an adult and lost most of his friends and acquaintances, too much time had passed for him to truly remember what it felt like in the times he wasn’t hiding from everyone around him. A mere half a year wasn’t enough to get used to such different circumstances.
In hindsight, it was hard to tell when and how they had become a couple. They had grown closer and closer in the aftermath of the reveal, with Severus finding reasons and excuses to remain in close proximity to Remus, and come see him at his house over the summer. One night when Harry and Sirius were asleep, and the two of them found themselves alone. Somehow, the conversation about leaving turned to honesty about needs and desires, and hesitant touches turned into kisses. When he thought back to how they got to the point they were currently at, Remus remembered that night as the night when he knew that he was in love, but he wasn’t sure if it was the night when they began dating. It felt so natural, like it was something they both wanted, and so, they both allowed it to continue.
Sirius was of course the first person to call them out on their attractions, and the fact that they were more or less dating, and so, it had just happened. Neither of them had any reason to deny it at that point, and the fact that, unlike in their youth, Severus wasn’t attempting to deny it in the slightest made Remus feel overwhelmingly warm and happy.
Remus sometimes feared that the whole thing was just something he was pushing onto Severus, as the man had remained distant to him for a long time, yet Severus continuously informed him that he wanted this as well, although he found it hard to be vocal about his desires and needs. Still, Remus doubted, until his partner found himself somewhat annoyed with his insecurities and pointed out that it was rather rude of Remus to presume that Severus was forcing himself to be with him when he was in fact very happy to be dating the werewolf. After that, Remus didn’t find himself questioning Severus’ words, instead, he found comfort in the knowledge that if Severus wanted their relationship to end, he would say so.
“So… how did it go, dropping the Lupling off with the Malloys? Are you sure that they are treating you right?” Sirius asked, lifting his cup to his lips and drank. Judging by his displeased expression, the tea was too hot for him still, thus, he put his cup down.
In his stubbornness, Sirius had elected to call the Malfoys the Malloys, as he didn’t like the family very much and he had decided that nobody would really mind as long as they didn’t hear him. Seeing as he was only human with Remus, and only hidden away in the basement, the werewolf supposed that he could call the Malfoys whatever he wanted. The Lupling was a nickname which one of Harry’s friends had given him, and after learning of it, Sirius had been excited to use the nickname too. Harry allowed it, even if he didn’t yet allow Sirius the usage of his first name. Other than that, Harry wasn’t making things hard for Sirius in any way. It was true that Sirius needed some time to recover before even thinking about the past. Acts like apologising for the past would mean tearing up old scars, which the man truly wasn’t ready for yet.
Remus had always been worrying about how his condition as a werewolf would affect his relationships with other families and mages. However, after it was made known to the world that Harry Potter’s father was a werewolf, he had found himself worrying about how it might affect his son and his friendships. He could accept that his own relationships suffered, but the idea of ruining something for an innocent party made the werewolf highly self conscious and anxious.
To Remus’ great surprise and relief, Draco Malfoy had other plans than to allow anything to ruin his relationship with Harry Lupin. From what he had learned from Severus and Sirius, Lucius Malfoy’s authority had been challenged by his son, and to everyone’s surprise, Lucius Malfoy had picked his son over his own beliefs. In a sense, it was understandable that a family of such influence as the Malfoys would seek to keep the family together and not lose the one heir to the family, but it still felt quite surprising. While Remus had little doubt that Lucius Malfoy wanted to cut him and Harry out of his son’s life, Draco Malfoy did not allow that to happen. From what Harry told him, his friend had made certain that his father not only allowed him to continue seeing Harry, but also allowed him to let his friend visit, just as Harry had been allowed last summer.
Remus was very happy that Harry’s relationships hadn’t been damaged by him. He still had friends who wrote to him, and wanted to see him over the summer break. Granger had visited a lot during the summer, and judging from her words, her family didn’t know about her former teacher being a werewolf, which might be why they didn’t mind her coming over so often. Not to mention that Sirius was more than happy to play with her cat Crookshanks, which made her visits pleasant for everyone.
Harry also told him that his friend Nott had been writing a lot as well, he seemed very eager to apologise for the way he had acted when Remus’ condition had been made known, and was apparently still eager to be adopted, referring to some sort of inside joke between the boys. Remus knew that the boy was joking, but it warmed his heart to think that the boy still made those jokes even after he knew of the werewolf’s condition. He had also enclosed a little mechanical toy for Remus in one of his letters, calling it ‘another jumping werewolf so that the other one will have a family.’ The little present meant a lot to Remus, and he kept it on his desk to remind him that his students didn’t all despise him for what he was.
However well things seemed to be going for Harry and his friendships, Remus had never dreamt that he would be allowed inside Malfoy Manor ever again. Thus, it was with great surprise that he found Narcissa Malfoy waiting for him when he had come to drop Harry off. Adding to that surprise was the fact that she and her son weren’t alone, but that Severus had been with her. Narcissa Malfoy had, with a displeased look on her face, and a sternness to her body language, welcomed Remus inside for tea. Rather than welcome, her voice had made it clear that she wouldn’t accept a refusal, and so, Remus had found himself in the very same tea parlour as last summer, only this time, Severus was there too, and Madam Malfoy seemed highly displeased with at least one of her guests.
“My son has continuously informed me throughout the summer that I should speak with you both about the... information which was revealed earlier this spring.” Naricssa had said, speaking of course of the werewolf incident as she sat down in an armchair, staring them both down. “And he has continuously informed me that I should speak with you both, as one of you is an expert of the subject and the other has… the experience required to confirm the information. Thus…. I ask you both… explain. I shall listen.”
The day had been slow and exhausting, and their conversation had continued for hours, with Severus doing most of the talking, and Remus remaining silent by his side, trying to not give in to the rising anxiety within him. Severus was essentially giving her the same lesson as he had to his students, using facts and history to back up his words to an even greater extent when dealing with an adult.
By the end of their discussion, Narcissa had questioned his words with the fact that if all of this had been true, how was it that Severus hadn't told her about it earlier.
To this, Severus had calmly responded that he could have told her at any time, but that she hadn’t been ready to listen to his words, much to the Madam’s displeasure, but she didn’t argue.
She had pondered this for almost a minute, before she slowly admitted to herself and the two men that she had been wrong about werewolves, and that she would no longer have a problem with her son’s best friend and the friend’s father. She did not make any grand exclamations about no longer being prejudiced against werewolves, or accepting them all as the same, but she seemed to have decided that she would no longer lock Remus away from her life because of his illness. Remus didn’t feel like he had specifically gained much more of a friend in her than he had previously, but he felt like she was no longer opposed to him. Before he left with Severus, she made a point out of extending an open invitation to her household, should Remus want to visit alongside his son. Remus had yet to take her up on her offer, but he highly appreciated it.
Well back in his home, Severus had expressed his relief in that Narcissa had accepted his words to be true, as she was a very sheltered person, who didn’t quite know or care about the world outside her mansion. He stated that it was good for her to have knowledge of the world outside her home, as she had a bad habit of locking herself away from anything which didn’t quite fit into the worldview which she had been taught to believe in since childhood. Be it the fact that werewolves were but sick, not dangerous people and not beasts, or the fact that science disproved her highly treasured elitist Pureblood beliefs, it was quite the challenge for the woman to adapt to the matters without interacting with the world around her the way her son had. The man who was her son’s Godfather was clearly pleased that he had been able to widen her references, and that it had the benefit of making her no longer treat his partner as something Remus was not.
“The Malfoys are trying hard to not treat me badly. I can tell that it isn’t easy for them, but they are being more respectful than I could ever dare hoping. Not to mention that they are treating Harry well when he stays over.” Remus smiled at his old friend, calmly drinking some of his tea.
“I sure wish I could come with him tomorrow… Just to, you know, keep an eye on him.” Sirius sighed as he leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling with a longing expression on his face.
“You just want to see the Quidditch World Cup for yourself, don’t you?” Remus chuckled, teasing his friend, as Sirius so often teased him.
Sirius made a face before sinking down further in the chair, whimpering like a dog. “You don’t get it. You just don’t get it. It’s the World Cup, Remus. World. Cup. And Ireland is playing. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity…” He disappeared out of view from sinking so far down on the chair that Remus couldn’t see him anymore. “Of course I want to see it for myself… But I’m also worried about Harry, you know? There is this person who has gone missing in Albania, where Voldemort was last seen. That could mean trouble.”
Remus gave him a weak, joyless smile. “I know… her disappearance bothers me too, but I don’t think that it's necessarily connected to the Dark Lord. The Ministry is doing their best to find her, we truly do not know more than that.”
“What if Death Eaters show up at the game?” Sirius sat up again, his expression tense and his eyes nervous. “What if Malloy would try to sell Har-, the Lupling out to his Death Eater buddies?”
“Sirius, please…” Remus wasn’t begging his friend to stop speaking because of his accusations, but because Sirius’ paranoia reflected Remus fears as well. “I know how you feel, and I do not trust Lucius Malfoy either, but I do trust that he has been able to get this far by denying all ties to the Death Eaters. For him to try something after the Chamber of Secrets, and while trying to prove himself to his son and the world, would be political and societal suicide. He couldn’t possibly let any harm come to Harry, or the world will seek justice. Not to mention that his son would. I have been assured that they will leave right after the game, and return to Malfoy Manor. Harry has been safe this entire time in their household, I am certain that Malfoy won’t seek to harm him.”
“Hm. If he tries, I will eat his head.” The escaped prisoner mumbled at his teacup. Remus didn’t doubt that he would try.
The werewolf took a deep breath and lifted his own cup to his lips, trying hard to not think of the words which his partner had spoken when Remus asked him about Lucius Malfoy. Severus’ face had become stern, twisting into the mask of displeasure which so many thought was the one and only expression he was capable of making.
“Remus,” he had said, his voice lowering to a somber, yet audible tone. “Make no mistake. Lucius Malfoy was, and will doubtlessly always be, a Death Eater. Be wary of him.”
Remus and Sirius had always been rather certain that the man was a Death Eater, the confirmation from Severus was all that they needed to know beyond doubt. However, Remus didn’t want to believe that Lucius Malfoy couldn’t possibly change. He had already proven to be changing. If REmus could actively hide and rely on the escaped criminal Sirius Black, as well as love a man who most students found terrifying beyond belief, why shouldn’t he allow Lucius Malfoy to at the very least try to change for the better?
Remus hoped that he wasn’t making a terrible mistake in allowing Harry to go to the Quidditch World Cup with his best friend.