Chapter Text
Lily Evans was eight years old when she became a big sister. True, he was only a month and a half younger and an inch shorter, but that didn’t matter to Lily. She was ready to embrace being a big sister. It might not have been as important to her even a few months earlier, but during the summer a letter to Hogwarts had not arrived for her sister, who was eleven. Petunia hadn’t shown any signs of magic but there had been hope until the September of her eleventh year had come and gone without a letter. Now Petunia hardly talked to her. Hardly talked to anyone in the family, and spent as much time at the library or with friends as she was allowed.
“It’s going to take a little while, sweetheart. Why don’t you go play and I’ll call you when they’re here?” Lily was sitting cross-legged on the floor not too far from the fireplace in the drawing-room. It was the floo that her dad would be using when he came home. He wouldn’t be alone.
“I have a book.” She touched the book that she hadn’t opened today. “I want to see him when he gets here. It must be kind of scary, don’t you think? And kind of sad not to have a home anymore.”
“He has a home now. You can show him his new room when he gets here.” Marigold Evans kissed the top of her daughter’s head. The decision to bring home a foster child had only happened a few days ago, but they had spent most of the time since then transforming the guest room into something more personal. The walls had been painted blue the muggle way, but the stars the sparkled on the ceiling after the lights were turned off were magic. The quilt on the bed was one that Grandma Evans had made, and there was a bookcase next to the bed filled with books, some donated by Lily, some bought at a second-hand shop. A few of the stuffed animals that Petunia had declared she was too old for were on the bed. “I have to go check on dinner.”
Lily didn’t have too much longer to wait. Before her mother had time to come check on her the fireplace started glowing. A moment later her dad appeared, his hand firmly holding onto that of a little boy. Her new brother. Lily scrambled to her feet. “Welcome home, Remus.”
The little boy with the chestnut hair and the scar on his cheek stared at her for a moment before running from the room.
“It’s not you, poppet.” Her dad set down the bag he was carrying. “He’s had a lot happen already today. He probably just needed a minute alone. I’ll go check on him.”
“Can I do it?” She knew all the best hiding places in the house.
“If he asks to be alone you need to listen, okay?” Lily nodded solemnly. He’d been giving her the same advice about Petunia but it was easier to understand this time.
She found him in the loo, sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest and his back against the tub. The door was open so she went in and sat on the floor facing him. “Is it okay if I sit here?”
Remus looked up when she spoke, but only shrugged before looking down at the tile floor again.
“My name’s Lily. My dad says we’re the same age. He’s the one that told me your name. I’ve never met a Remus before but it’s a cool name. Cooler than being named after a flower.” She didn’t mind being named after a flower, not really. Tuney was named after a flower too, and mum. But so were lots of other people. It would be nice to have a name no one else had.
“My mum likes flowers. She has a garden.” His voice was almost a whisper and Lily had to strain to hear it.
“My mum has a garden too, I could show it to you.” Mum and dad had explained to her and Tuney that they weren’t supposed to ask about Remus’ parents. His dad had died a little while ago and his mum couldn’t take care of him. Lily didn’t know why it was important that his mum was a muggle but for some reason, her mum and dad thought that meant something.
Remus shook his head.
“I could show you your bedroom? It’s more comfortable than the loo and it’s across the hall from mine but if you want to be alone you could just close the door. Dad charmed the ceiling to have stars on it but if you don’t like stars or blue we can change the color.” When she was little she had flowers on her ceiling but the charm had long since faded. She was thinking about asking her dad to do stars on her ceiling too. “Mum’s making shepherd's pie for dinner but it’s not ready yet.”
Remus shrugged again, but this time he stood up and Lily figured that was a yes. She reached out to take his hand but he didn’t take it so she stuck it in her pocket and let the way up the stairs.
II
Remus was cold. He was always cold now, it seemed, ever since that night in the garden but it was worse since they had taken him to the building they called Ministry and the little room with the door that didn’t open. There was a blanket on the bed but the floor was stone without a carpet and someone had taken away his shoes. They’d taken away his mum too.
His mum had promised him that everything would be okay if he was a brave boy. Someone would be able to take care of him better than she could. She was a good mum and read him stories and made him soup when he didn’t feel good. He understood, though, that it was his fault that he couldn’t stay at home. Mum was a muggle and he was s monster, and muggles couldn’t protect themselves from monsters. In the beginning, after he’d been in St Mungo’s and his bites had healed, dad had been able to keep her safe but he was gone now. Dead, mum had said, but he didn’t like to think about that word.
“He’s a child. A human child with no more ability to hurt you than a flobberworm.” Usually there was only silence in the hall, but a few hours after lunch had been taken away Remus heard yelling. He didn’t like yelling. The floor was cold but there was space between the wall and the desk, so he crouched down as small as he could.
“Mr. Evans you can’t…”
“I think you’ll find that I can and I will.” The door opened and while Remus waited for more yelling he heard only the sounds of feet shuffling across the stone floor.
“Remus?” The same voice that had been shouting in the hall was quiet now. “Do you remember me?”
Remus looked up and found the man that he had talked to the first day he’d been in the room. He’d brought paints and paper, and asked Remus if there was anything he needed. Remus had lied and said he didn’t need anything at all. He needed his mum and dad but he couldn’t have them anymore. Slowly he nodded.
“I know things have been very confusing and probably scary, but it’s going to be alright. I’m going to take you home with me, alright? My wife Mari is excited to meet you and so is Lily, my daughter who is just a little older than you. I have two little girls, Lily and Petunia, but I’ve always wanted a little boy too..” The man with the bright red hair was bigger than his dad had been, but he wasn’t scary. His hand when he reached out was warm. Remus looked at the hand, so much larger than his own, and bit his lower lip.
“I’m going to get your bag, alright Remus? And that picture on the wall, the one you painted. I’d like to take that with us too. Is that okay?”
Remus looked around the room. He wanted to go home, but he couldn’t. Somewhere else had to be better than where he was. He nodded.
II
“He’s hiding in the closet again. He’s such a freak, I don’t understand why he’s here.” It wasn’t often that Petunia was asked to talk to Remus in the three days he’d been in their home, but she’d been the only one around to call him to dinner. Her job a failure she sat down and dished food onto her plate, starting to eat despite the fact that everyone else was waiting.
“I’ll go get him.” Lily took a roll from the basket. Sometimes she couldn’t convince him to leave the closet and at least he would have something to eat until mum could take a plate upstairs. Since he’d come home Remus had rarely left his room and hadn’t gone outside at all.
“Remus?” She knocked on his door even though she knew that he wouldn’t answer. The room looked empty but the closet door was open. She sat down just outside of the closet door.
“Mum made chicken and mashed potatoes. Aren’t you hungry?” He hadn’t come down for lunch, though he had been down for breakfast and had three sausage rolls. She reached out and put the roll next to his feet. His face was hidden behind a robe but when he snatched at the roll she could see the now familiar scar on his hand. “I can bring you more if you don’t want to come down.”
“It’s better if I’m not there.”
“We want you with us. Tuney isn’t mad at you, she’s mad at everything because she didn’t get a Hogwarts letter and it makes her sad.” He didn’t say anything but she could hear him eating the roll.
“I’ll be right back, okay?” She ran downstairs and filled a plate with dinner, as much as it would hold, and took two forks, running back upstairs before mum or dad could ask any questions. Tuney was already gone from the table. When she got back to Remus’ room she joined him in the closet and handed him the second fork. “It’s like a picnic.”
He ate most of the mashed potatoes but she didn’t mind. After they ate he needed to wash his hands in the loo, and when he came back he say on his bed instead of in the closet.
II
Lily was in the garden. It was bright outside and he could see the sun on her hair as she checked on her pumpkins. Remus watched her through the window; she’d invited her out with him but he couldn’t go. He hadn’t been outside in weeks, not since he left his old home, and even then he’d only gone because he promised his mum he would. Bad things happened when you went outside. In April, a month after his birthday, he’d gone outside in the garden and when he’d woken up he’d been in the hospital and everything had changed.
“There’s some gobstones on the bookshelf by the back door, sweetheart. Why don’t you take them out and play with Lily, I’m sure she’d love a game.” Mari Evans, who told him he could call her Mari or mum, whatever felt comfortable, joined him at the window. Remus shook his head.
“Did you want to help me make some cookies? I was going to do some baking.” Remus thought for a moment, because he liked watching his mum bake, and usually where there were cookies there was also chocolate. Lily was outside, though, and someone needed to watch her and make sure nothing happened. He shook his head again.
“Okay, sweetheart. If you change your mind come join me. When they’re done I’ll make some cocoa and we can all have a nice afternoon treat.” She kissed the top of his head and let him stand at the window in peace. Every once in a while he looked over to where she was working, but mostly he watched Lily. She watered her pumpkins and picked up a gnome, sending it over the garden wall. Finally she started back towards the house and Remus sighed with relief.
“Do I smell cookies?” Lily grinned when she came inside.
“Your mum is baking.” It was easier to talk to Lily than anyone else.
“Our mum.” Lily wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “We’re sharing, remember?”
Remus nodded slowly. It was hard to say the word mum, even to Lily.
II
“I want to go.” It was after dinner when dad and Remus headed for the fireplace in the living room. Lily didn’t understand where they could be going so late in the day but she knew that Remus needed her. After almost three weeks she was still the only person in the family who could get him to say much more than ‘yes please’ and ‘no thank you.’
“They’ll be back before you wake up, love. Why don’t you run up and brush your teeth? The sooner you’re asleep the sooner it will be morning.” Lily’s mum was making bread, a sure sign that she was worried. She always brought bread unless she was worried and needed something to do with her hands.
“But mum…”
“You can’t go with them, it’s not safe.”
“Why is it okay for Remus to go?” He’d barely left the house since he’d arrived, and even then he’d only been in the garden a few times, never too far from the door.
“You have to trust that your dad knows what’s best, Lily. You know he cares about Remus.” Mum kneaded her bread and behind them, the sound of the floo meant then Remus was already gone. Upstairs Petunia was in her room with the door closed, and Lily knew that even if if the door was open they wouldn’t be able to talk.
Lily went to bed reluctantly and tried to stay awake until her dad and Remus returned. The moon was bright enough that she could read a book without using a light, and for a while that was enough to keep her awake. She didn’t quite make it to midnight before falling asleep and woke up hours later to her mum and dad talking in the hall.
“I can’t do that again, Mar. The room looked like a cage and the way they treated him…”
“We’ll figure something else out for next month, sweetheart. We’ll do everything we can to protect him.” Lily listened until her mum and dad were gone before creeping across the hall. If dad was home then Remus must be too.
She figured he might be asleep already but when she saw him it was the bandages on his arms she noticed, bits of blood seeping through. He was sleeping but shivering despite the blankets on him. Lily bit her lip, trying to keep herself from making a noise. If mum and dad knew that she was awake they might try and make her go back to her room and Remus needed her. She didn’t understand what had happened but she knew that she needed to keep him safe. Carefully she climbed onto the bed, pulling the covers over her. Making sure to avoid any bandages she wrapped an arm around his waist. She could keep him warm for now, and she would learn how to keep him safe. He was her brother, after all, and that’s what sisters were supposed to do.