Chapter Text
Summer, 1976
Remus and James approached the Evanses house both looking forward to spending the holiday with James’s fiancé Lily. James had proposed just a week ago to Lily who had accepted instantly for she had fallen in love with someone she had once referred to as big headed Potter. That however, had all changed in the Marauders fifth year when James had changed and not played as many pranks—especially mean ones.
James rang the doorbell of the Evanses house and it was almost immediately opened by a man who had to at least be in his fifties with black hair and a cheerful face. His eyes were a deep green like Lily’s. “You must be Lily’s fiancé,” said the man to James.
“Yes, sir, I’m James Potter and you must be Lily’s father Dennis.”
“That’s right son,” said Dennis. “Why don’t you boys come in?”
The two boys entered the house and as soon as the door was closed James introduced Remus. “Sir, I’d like you to meet my good friend Remus Lupin.”
“Oh, yes, Lily has mentioned you along with another fellow—uhm—Sirius Black I believe.”
“That’s right sir,” said James. “Sirius wanted us to give you his apologies, he wanted to be here but unfortunately his family wouldn’t allow him to come.” Which was the diplomatic way of saying that Sirius family were not very nice being mostly practitioners of the Dark Arts.
“I see,” said Dennis seeming to accept the explanation at face value. “Lily’s upstairs. I’ll get her for you.”
“Thank you sir,” said James politely.
James relaxed a little as soon as Dennis was out of sight. “Way to go James,” Remus congratulated his friend. “I think you made a very good impression.”
“I sure hope so,” said James. “Being polite all the time is going to be a strain.”
“I’m sure,” said Remus dryly knowing James’s usual mischievous nature.
“Oh, ye of little faith,” James said jabbing an elbow into Remus’s rib’s playfully.
“Well, you’re the one that said being polite was a strain,” Remus teased him gently. “I was only repeating your statement.”
James looked at him his glance promising retribution later for Remus’s teasing.
Before Remus could respond however Lily came down the stairs. “James you’re here,” said Lily flinging herself into his arms and giving him a kiss.
“Of course, didn’t I tell you I would come and visit you this summer?” asked James.
“How are you Remus?” asked Lily.
“I’m fine Lily,” said Remus.
“And where’s Sirius?”
“He sent his apologies,” said James.
“His family?” asked Lily her expression darkening at the thought of the Blacks.
James nodded not wanting to discuss it.
“Don’t worry he’ll be seventeen in just a few months and we all graduate next year. He can get away from his family then.”
“We hope,” said Lily but didn’t have time to say any more for her sister Petunia had come into the den from upstairs.
“Petunia have you met my fiancé James and his friend Remus?” asked Lily hoping her sister wouldn’t make a scene. She and Petunia had used to be so close, but ever since it had been discovered that she had magic and her older sister didn’t they had grown apart. Petunia was very bitter because Lily seemed to have inherited her family’s talent for magic while she hadn’t. At the moment Petunia was dating this humongous guy with a bull of a neck by the name of Vernon Dursley and Lily hated him with a passion.
“No and I don’t want to,” said Petunia snidely. Remus, however, was staring at Petunia, as if he had been petrified a look of shock in his hazel eyes. He had known ever since he was thirteen that he had a soulmate. His parents had sat him down one day during the summer before he started his fourth year and showed him the documentation of where they had had the soulmate test done when he had been born. They had gently told him that he would find his soulmate when he would least expect it and then had explained what a soulmate was. For a boy who had been sheltered for most of his life because of his lycanthropy to find out he had a soulmate someone who was supposedly a perfect match for him was something of a shock and to discover it was Lily’s sister was even more so.
But what was he supposed to do about it? From all the stories Lily had told of her sister he knew that Petunia hated magic and by extension anybody who had it.
“Remus buddy you okay?” asked James as Petunia exited the room in a huff not even glancing in the threes direction
Remus came out of his daze and looked over at James and said, “I’m fine, James.”
“You sure? You look as though you’ve been struck by lightning.”
Remus didn’t respond, although he thought that James wasn’t far from the truth for he felt as though he had been struck by lightning. Remus again assured James he was fine but wondered to himself what the hell he was going to do.
~~~Remus and Petunia~~~
Remus stood on the back porch a little after dinner and wondered what the hell he was going to do about Petunia. He knew he would never be entirely happy without her, but on the other hand, he hadn’t expected to fall in love with someone who knew about magic and yet hated it. He had tried not to stare at her during dinner but it had been difficult for his eyes seemed to keep glancing in her direction no matter how he tried to prevent himself. It was if his eyes had a mind of their own and he was also sure that Lily and possibly her mother had noticed and wondered about it. He would be very surprised if he wasn’t questioned about it by Lily at least. As for James he was dense as a rock when it came to romance unless it involved Lily, so he probably didn’t have to worry about James noticing his preoccupation.
“Remus?” came Lily’s voice as she came out onto the porch where Remus was standing looking at the stars. “You okay? You seem a little distracted.”
“I’m fine, Lily,” Remus assured her with a half-smile. “There’s no need to worry about me.”
“But I’m your friend, Remus. I mean you’re almost like the brother I never had and right now I’m worried about you. Don’t think I didn’t notice the way you kept glancing at my sister almost as if you couldn’t take your eyes off her.”
Remus blushed glad that the darkness hid it and tried to get Lily off the subject without having to actually lie. “Lily, I don’t believe you know what you are talking about.”
“Oh, I don’t? Remus while you kept glancing at Petunia she kept glancing at you, even though she tried not to.”
Remus perked up at this but tried to not let Lily be aware that her statement had affected him at all. “Try to tell me you two aren’t attracted to each other and I’ll call you liars, because you will be.”
“It’s not just a matter of attraction Lily,” said Remus finally unable to lie to someone he considered a friend.
“Then what is it if it’s not attraction?”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t attraction just that that wasn’t all it was. As for what it is before I answer that let me ask you a question.”
“Okay,” said Lily.
“Do you know about the spell that is performed at birth called the soulmate spell?”
“Yes,” said Lily, instantly. “I read about it in the Hogwarts library.”
“Well, that spell was performed on me when I was born. My parents told me about it when I was thirteen.”
Lily was silent for a few minutes as if trying to put all the pieces together. Finally, she said, “You’re telling me that you have a soulmate and you think its Petunia.”
“I don’t think, Lily,” said Remus quietly and seriously. “I know. It was as if the missing part of my heart had snapped into place the minute I saw her.”
Lily studied Remus expression which was only partly visible in the lights of the porch and saw that he looked perfectly serious and sober.
“Well then, Remus, you have your work cut out for you then, ever since I started going to Hogwarts my sister has grown more and more bitter.”
“I know, Lily, I know, but I also know I must try for neither one of us will ever be completely happy without the other, even if Petunia doesn’t realize it, I do.”
“I wish you luck, my brother,” said Lily hoping against hope that Remus could thaw Petunia’s hatred towards magic and in so doing towards her family and friends.
“Thank you, sister,” said Remus with a real smile this time one that reached his eyes.
“You’re welcome,” said Lily before turning and heading back inside.
~~~Remus and Petunia~~~
Several hours later, as soon as Remus and James were gone for the evening and Petunia was upstairs Lily told her mother about her conversation with Remus for Caryl had indeed noticed Remus’s preoccupation with her oldest daughter and so had Dennis although he hadn’t informed his wife or daughter of that fact. Dennis, of course, being raised in a wizarding household suspected what the problem was and he was almost anxious to see if Remus Lupin could bring Petunia out of this bitter attitude she’d had for the last few years. His sweet older daughter had started to turn bitter the minute she had found out that Lily had been accepted into Hogwarts and it had only gotten worse over the last six years. In fact, it had gotten especially bad after she had met that Muggle Vernon Dursley and although both parents had tried to gently encourage her to find another boyfriend Petunia had been extremely stubborn about the matter and had refused to give him up, so perhaps Remus could change that or at least Dennis hoped so for his daughter’s sake.
“So, what did Remus tell you?” asked Caryl as Lily appeared in the den where she was just sitting and relaxing.
Lily calmly sat beside her mother and repeated the conversation she had had with Remus just a few hours ago.
“So, do you think what Remus told you is true? That he and Petunia are soulmates? And do such things as perfect matches for certain people actually exist?”
“Well, as to your last question, I can’t say for sure whether or not soulmates actually exist except for the fact that as soon as I saw James for the first time it was as if something had snapped into place in my soul. I, of course, didn’t realize until recently that such things as soulmates existed, but I now believe that James and I were meant to meet and fall in love, although it took me years to realize that fact, so who am I to say, that Remus and my sister are not meant to be together?”
“I see,” said Caryl thoughtfully turning her youngest daughter’s words over in her mind. “Well, in any case it doesn’t matter whether or not if I believe in soulmates so long as Remus can make Petunia happy and vice versa of course,” said Caryl thinking back over her own marriage to Dennis almost twenty-five years ago now and wondering if they were perhaps soulmates as well, for she had always felt they were meant to meet and fall in love. She was still as much in love with Dennis, as she had been when they had married so perhaps they were. She supposed the only way to know was to ask her husband and she wasn’t sure whether or not she wanted to take that step. “We’ll just have to see how it all develops I suppose, but for now it’s getting late and both of us need to head to bed. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, mum, but just a word of advice. I wouldn’t mention this conversation to Petunia or to anyone actually. We should just see how things turn out on their own for if we push, especially with Pet it will more than likely backfire in our faces and make her even more determined to marry that idiot Dursley.”
“Lily, language,” Caryl admonished her daughter not really sounding like she meant it.
“Sorry, mum,” Lily apologized not looking in the least bit contrite
“Not that I don’t agree with you,” Caryl added after a moment her disapproval of Vernon Dursley coming in loud and clear.
Lily snickered for she fully agreed and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs to her room.
~~~Remus and Petunia~~~
Meanwhile, in Petunia’s room, she lay back on her bed unable to sleep, as she thought about Remus Lupin. It was like she had been struck by a lightning bolt the moment she had laid eyes on him and that certainly wasn’t something she had been expecting after all wasn’t he a friend of her freak sister and didn’t he go to that freak school? So, what was wrong with her? All during dinner she had been unable to keep her eyes off him no matter how hard she tried for they just kept going back to study his face and body as if she couldn’t get enough of looking at him. It was true, he was handsome, in a boy next door sort of way and he was also tall and skinny unlike Vernon who was built like a bull but what really attracted her to him was not so much his looks or his body although those were great to, but his gentle brown eyes, which were filled with a caring and empathy that made Petunia feel as if she could drown in his hazel eyes—hazel that had flecks of gold.
She had to stop this; she told herself sternly. He was a freak just like her sister and her father. It was true that she loved her family but anybody with the power to do what these people did could not be normal could they?
But when had this dissatisfaction began, a little voice in the back of head asked? It had only began when she discovered that her younger sister would be going to Hogwarts because she had magic and Petunia didn’t.
That was when it had started, Petunia admitted.
You are jealous, her conscience accused her.
So what? Don’t I have right to be? It was always Lily who had all the boys attracted to her when we were growing up. It was always Lily that got such good grades and now, it’s Lily that has all the magic talent.
But she can’t help any of those things you know and you are just as smart as she is. And so, what if she has talents in magic? That’s something she was born with and not something she asked for and could she help it if she had boys tripping over each other to ask her out? Has she ever asked for it? Besides, your family loves you and you are putting them through a great deal of pain acting like you hate your sister for things she cannot help. You know you really love your sister.
Did she love Lily? Petunia asked herself. Was her inner voice right? Well, she supposed, Lily had never really done anything to deserve her animosity. It had been all her own doing, her hatred and jealousy, she finally admitted. Well, she was going to change or try to at least and the first thing she was going to do was to break it off with Vernon.
It didn’t occur to her until many years later that she was willing to try to change so that Remus Lupin would notice her and when it did she would be very glad she had made the effort. It also never occurred to her to wonder why Remus had been looking at her when she had been staring at him and if it had, she might have realized that he was already halfway in love with her, but sad because he was sure she would never return his feelings.
~~~Remus and Petunia~~~
A few days later, Petunia met Vernon at the park for Petunia felt as if she had to break up with him in person and not just on the phone.
“Petunia,” boomed the voice of Vernon as he walked to where she was sitting on a park bench.
“Vernon,” said Petunia, as she tried to appear calm. She had chosen the park at this time of day because it was filled with people and yet it was also relatively private. She thought that Vernon wouldn’t dare try to harm her with so many people watching or at least she hoped not. She was determined to break it off with Vernon Dursley, so she could be with Remus she just hoped he didn’t take it too badly.
“Why’d you want to meet here?” asked Vernon.
“Because I wanted to talk to you and this was the best place I could think of to do it,” Petunia explained, trying not to appear nervous.
“Talk to me about what?” asked Vernon not appearing to have a clue that Petunia was going to break it off with him.
“Talk to you about the fact that I don’t want to see you anymore,” said Petunia calmly.
Vernon looked shocked then outraged, as Petunia’s words sank into his brain. “You’re breaking up with me?” Vernon shouted so loudly that several of the people in the park glanced in their direction probably wondering what was going on.
“Lower your voice, Vernon,” Petunia said in apparent calm while inside she was quivering with emotion. “No one else needs to know our business and yes, I’m breaking up with you as if that wasn’t obvious from my words.”
“But why?” asked Vernon in a more normal tone of voice.
“I’ve met someone else,” Petunia answered, simply.
“Who is this guy you’ve supposedly met,” Vernon growled menacingly both his huge hands rolling into fists. “I’ll pulverize him.”
“Vernon Dursley, you will do no such thing,” said Petunia trying to keep her fear for Remus out of her voice. “And you threatening to beat up someone just because we’re dating; is just one of many reasons why I do not think we were meant to be together.”
“But Petunia, I love you. I was going to ask you to marry me as soon as I had saved up enough to buy you a ring.”
“I’m sorry, Vernon,” said Petunia. “I truly am, but I met this guy and it was love at first sight for both of us. You’ll find someone someday, but it just won’t be me. I really am sorry, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”
Vernon looked very upset and devastated at the same time as Petunia rose from the park bench and started to head for her car that was at the entrance to the park. “Is there anything I can do to change your mind?” asked Vernon as he followed her.
“I’m afraid not,” said Petunia shaking her head. “I love Remus very much and he loves me. He shows me every time I see him how much he cares about me.”
“Remus, what a name,” Vernon snorted contemptuously. “That’s an assumed name if I have ever heard one.”
“No, according to Remus, his mother loved Latin and one of her favorite stories was about two brothers named Romulus and Remus who were reputedly raised by wolves. That’s where his name came from.”
Vernon realized then that he had lost Petunia completely for the way she talked about this Remus, whoever he was, was in a tone of voice that was practically dripping with so much tenderness and love that it made Vernon want to barf. It was more than clear, even to him, that she loved this guy very much and he apparently returned her feelings.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out between us Vernon, this is goodbye,” Petunia said, as she climbed in her car and started the engine.
“I’m sorry too, Petunia,” said Vernon softly. “We could have been great together.”
“Perhaps in another time or place, but not now,” said Petunia giving Vernon one last look and then driving away.
Her last sight of Vernon Dursley was of him standing on the curb looking lost and forlorn.
~~~Remus and Petunia~~~
A week later, Remus again appeared at the Evanses house this time without James for Lily’s parents had invited him for dinner. He had been unsure as to whether or not accept the invitation for that would bring him into contact with Petunia but Lily had come over to his house and told him that her parents were aware of the situation with their oldest daughter and that they approved of him. Remus had still been going to refuse politely figuring somebody who had hated magic for so long would never change but both his parents and Lily had urged him to accept, but the thing that really convinced him to do it were Lily’s words to him just before she had left. She had said, “Remus please accept, if not for your sake then hers. Petunia has been drooping around the house ever since you left and she even broke up with that berk Vernon Dursley something that our parents couldn’t get her to do. You must have had more effect on her then anyone realized at the time, for she has actually been more polite and nicer then she has been to me since I started going to Hogwarts and you are the only one we can think of that made her change so dramatically.”
“But Lily we haven’t exchanged more than a few words,” Remus had protested. “And those few words didn’t lead me to believe that she had anything but the highest contempt for magic and anyone connected to it.”
“Just come to dinner Remus, and you’ll see what I mean,” Lily had requested.
Remus had sighed and agreed with great reluctance and now here he was. He rang the doorbell and it was opened so quickly that he almost fell back in shock. Standing before him was a very different Petunia Evans. Gone was the solemn and sour-faced woman he had met for the first time just last week and in her place was a woman that would never be conventionally pretty, but who stood there, looking surprisingly lovely.
“Petunia, it’s nice to see you again,” said Remus trying not to stare as his heartbeat sped up from its normal rhythm.
“Come in,” said Petunia her voice low and soft, Remus’s werewolf hearing picking up her increased heart rate as she tried to appear nonchalant and relaxed.
“Thank you,” said Remus politely entering the house, Petunia closing the door behind him.
“Dinner will be ready shortly why don’t we go sit in the living room in the meantime,” said Petunia.
Remus nodded and politely followed Petunia after he said hello to her parents.
“So, where’s Lily?” asked Remus politely as he sat in a chair while Petunia sat on the couch.
“Oh, she had a date with James,” said Petunia with a shrug wondering if Remus was interested in her sister romantically.
I just bet she did, Remus thought realizing now he’d been set up and he’d fallen for it hook, line and sinker. Lily had more than likely already had a date with James set up when the Evanses had invited Remus over for dinner and if she hadn’t, which was unlikely, then she had set one up. He should have known he supposed, but he had been so consumed with his own worries that he hadn’t realized.
Petunia went out on a limb needing to know if Remus was interested in her sister. “So, what’s your relationship with my sister?”
“With Lily?” asked Remus puzzled for a moment wondering what Petunia meant by the odd question but then realized that in her own way Petunia was feeling him out to see if he had any romantic feelings for Lily. “Well, Lily and I have always been friends, and that’s as far as it goes. I think of her more like a sister than anything else. Besides, I wouldn’t dare take an interest in Lily romantically, since James would consider that treason. James has been in love with Lily from the moment he saw her.”
“What do you mean James would consider it treason, if you took an interest in her romantically?” asked Petunia in a puzzled tone.
“Has Lily ever told you about the Marauders?”
“I think she mentioned some things a while ago, yes,” said Petunia thinking back. “Something about a group who liked to play pranks particularly on the Slytherins.”
“Well, James is the leader of the Marauders and one of the main rules is that none of the Marauders is allowed to go after anyone that another of the group is romantically interested in, for if he does it is considered treason and is grounds enough to be thrown out of the group and also pranked to within an inch of their lives. Some of the pranks our group has been known to pull are downright embarrassing and if one of us was counted as a traitor it would be a thousand times worse. Sirius, Peter and I would rather be dead then go through that,” said Remus fervently.
“I see,” said Petunia as she studied Remus’s expression. “So, you are a member of this group?”
“I’m more or less on the outskirts and so is Peter. It’s mostly James and Sirius who think up most of the pranks, but if not for me, some of them would never have been able to be pulled off or would have gone wrong. I’m more of the planner than anything else. I plan how to pull off James’s and Sirius’s ideas and make sure no one gets hurt other than their pride anyway.”
Petunia listened as Remus talked and noticed that he gradually relaxed as he talked about his friends and that he seemed less nervous as he recounted a few of the pranks they had played either against the Slytherins as a whole or Severus Snape in particular.
By the time dinner was ready both Remus and Petunia had relaxed somewhat and happily chatted about generalities over the meal. Both Dennis and Caryl looked on and were happy to see the two young people getting along so well and both hoped it continued.
~~~Remus and Petunia~~~
“Would you like to go to the movies with me?” asked Remus nervously running a hand through his hair trying not to let on how important Petunia’s response was to him.
“Like a date?” asked Petunia almost shyly.
“If you want to consider it that,” said Remus with a smile, as he gazed at the woman he had fallen in love with deeply and completely in the course of one evening. He was determined to court her as much as he could during what remained of the summer and hopefully, while he was at school for his final year he would be able to write her letters and she would reply he hoped.
“Sure,” Petunia answered happily. “When?”
“What about this weekend?”
“Sounds good,” said Petunia. “I didn’t know that wizards knew about such things.”
“They do when both your parents are Muggle-born. It’s just like your family. Your father is Muggle-born and your mother is a Muggle, well, my family is similar except both my parents have magic.”
Petunia nodded in understanding.
“My mom made sure I knew at least a little something about the Muggle world when I was growing up just in case I ever had to mingle with Muggles for whatever reason. We went to movies; theme parks and shopping malls and she taught me how to drive a car just last year. She also taught me how to use Muggle money among other things. I’m not some snobbish pureblood, that won’t learn anything about the Muggle world, because they consider Muggles beneath their notice. I’ll call you," Remus promised before he left for the evening.
~~~Remus and Petunia~~~
Petunia entered the house practically skipping and Caryl came out of the kitchen with a rag for drying dishes in her hand at the sound of the front door opening. She observed her daughter for a moment then asked, “How’d your date go?” Which was a totally stupid question considering her oldest daughter looked about as cheerful as anybody could be and not burst into song.
“It went great,” Petunia said happily. It was several weeks later and Petunia and Remus had been out on quite a few dates in those weeks and both had grown closer and closer.
“So, are you going to give me a run down or what?” asked Caryl.
“Well, today, we just went to Diagon Alley. I know the family has been to Diagon Alley plenty of times before, but with Remus it was somehow different. Everything seemed brighter and fresher somehow even though I know nothing has really changed. Remus treated me to lunch and then ice cream at Florean Fortescue’s. All we really did was talk and do a little shopping, but just being with him makes me so happy that I don’t really care what we do so long as we are together.”
“What are you going to do when he goes back to school in just three weeks?”
“He’s promised to owl me at least once a week and more often if he can manage it with his studies. This next year will be his last and it is a critical one for him. He will take his N.E.W.T.s at the end of the year and the better his grades the better the job he can get when he graduates.”
Both women knew what the N.E.W.T.s were mostly thanks to Lily and her talking about it a few times over the last several years, but also thanks to Dennis who had explained a lot of aspects of the wizarding world over the years.
“And after he graduates?”
“We haven’t really talked about it,” said Petunia. “Remus did say that he needed to talk to me about something in the very near future. What it is he needs to talk about I don’t know, but he seemed faintly worried and anxious when he told me.”
“He didn’t even give you a clue?”
“No not a one,” said Petunia with a worried shake of her head. Remus had seemed extremely worried about something, but Petunia had been unable to get him to tell her what it was that was worrying him at least right them. “I tried to get him to tell me what was bothering him, but Remus can be extremely closemouthed when he wants to be and nothing can get it out of him when he doesn’t want to disclose it.”
“He’ll tell you when he’s ready,” said Caryl giving her daughter a hug. “Now why don’t you help me with dinner?”
“Okay,” Petunia agreed washing her hands in the sink.
~~~Remus and Petunia~~~
A few days later Remus and Petunia strolled hand-in-hand on a beach near Petunia’s neighborhood neither speaking for a few minutes.
“You said you needed to talk to me about something important when we saw each other a few days ago,” said Petunia as they strolled.
“I did,” said Remus then fell silent again. “Here, let’s sit down.”
“What’s been worrying you Remus?” asked Petunia gently putting her arm around his shoulders and gently giving them a squeeze as they both sat down on the sand.
“There is something you need to know about me before our relationship goes any further, Petunia,” Remus told her seriously a faintly worried look on his face.
“Then tell me,” said Petunia. “It can’t be that bad.”
“Alright,” said Remus sighing gathering his courage and turning to face Petunia. “Have you ever heard of werewolves—I mean outside of movies and books?”
Petunia thought back for a moment and then said, “I think I heard dad talking about them a few years ago. I believe he was saying something to mum along the lines of cursing the idiots who prevented werewolves from getting work when they were only dangerous once a month on the full moon. He also said that a lot of magic folk feared werewolves when they shouldn’t and he also said that it was true they could be dangerous on the full moon, but that was only once maybe twice a month.”
Remus relaxed a little at Petunia’s words but not completely.
Suddenly Petunia looked up into Remus worried face as her brain finally clicked on what he was trying to tell her. “You’re trying to tell me that you’re a werewolf, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” said Remus. “I’ve been putting it off as long as I could but in order to take our relationship to the next level I had to tell you.”
“Why have you been putting it off?” asked Petunia more calmly then Remus expected her to.
In fact, he expected her to scream in terror and demand to be taken home and for her to order him to never darken her doorway again. When none of those things happened Remus sat in a stunned silence for a moment then shook himself and replied, “Well, most people when they find out someone’s a werewolf want nothing to do with that individual and in fact, there are quite a few people who would probably like to wipe all werewolves off the face of the earth as if they were some sort of disease. Werewolves are feared because of that one night a month they turn into a beast who wants to bite people.”
“How do you prevent yourself from biting people since you can’t control yourself after the change?” asked Petunia not seeming the least bit disgusted or frightened at finding out that Remus turned into a beast once sometimes twice a month.
“Oh, I lock myself up,” said Remus. “At Hogwarts Headmaster Dumbledore had what is called the Shrieking Shack built for me to transform in. There is a secret tunnel which leads to it and so every full moon I go to the Shrieking Shack before the moon rises in order to transform. Once I am out on my own, however, I will have to make sure I have a room with a stout door so that I can’t possibly escape until after I turn back into myself. If not for Dumbledore becoming headmaster, I would never have been allowed to get an education. Werewolves are considered by many to be sub-human.”
“But you have friends,” Petunia pointed out. “And you have me as well.”
“Now, I do, and they accepted me it is true, but when I was growing up after I was bitten—which was when I was six—I was a very lonely boy who had no friends because of his condition. To go to Hogwarts meant everything to me and to finally have true friends even more. But now to have a girlfriend who knows my secret and accepts it has made me happier than I ever thought I could be,” said Remus with tears in his eyes.
Petunia put her arms around her boyfriend and held him as tears of happiness dripped down his face. “Shh, it’s okay, I will never leave you, simply because you have a condition you cannot help. Now, if I find you cheating on me, it’ll be a different story,” Petunia added half-jokingly trying to lighten the mood a little.
“That will never happen,” said Remus his tears drying as he took Petunia by the shoulders. “I love you more than anything and I will miss you like crazy when I have to go back to school next week.”
“It’s only one school year and then you’ll be done,” Petunia pointed out.
“That’s something else we need to talk about actually,” said Remus seriously. “When I do graduate I want you to be aware that it will be very unlikely that I’ll be able to keep a job in the wizarding world because of my condition. I’m afraid that the government doesn’t really do anything about helping people get over their fear of werewolves and in fact they encourage it in a lot of cases.”
“They’re idiots then,” said Petunia vehemently.
Remus chuckled and said, “That about describes them actually, the ones with power or money anyway. There are good people to of course, but they aren’t in a position to make any changes and could lose their jobs if they make too many waves.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Petunia said. “I love you and I eventually want to get married. Besides, I’m capable of working and I’m sure my father will have some ideas for you about making money.”
“I suppose so,” Remus conceded. “I’ve considered asking him for his advice, although I hate making people aware of my condition.”
“And it’s also a matter of pride,” Petunia guessed. “You want to be able to survive on your own and if you hadn’t been bitten when you were just a child you would have been able to make your own way in the world with few problems, but because you were, that might not be possible.”
Remus blushed in embarrassment but didn’t respond which told Petunia that she had hit the nail on the head so to speak. “Remus you have to understand that everybody needs help sometime whether they have a condition on not. In any case, your being a werewolf doesn’t matter to me. I still love you and I hope that someday we do get married. Besides, even if you can’t get a job, I wasn’t planning on being just a housewife. I’ve already started classes to get my teaching degree and I only have another year, before I graduate.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to stay at home and not have a job. My mother has always worked so I grew up having both parents who had jobs.”
“So, who took care of you after you were born if your mother worked?”
“That’s what relatives are for,” said Remus with a shrug. “But after my grandmother died when I was seven, mum had to find another solution, since she didn’t feel I was old enough to be left on my own. I’m an only child and as far as I know besides my parents and me the only ones left in my family.”
“So, what did your parents do?” asked Petunia genuinely interested in learning more about the boy she had fallen in love with.
“Well, there was this wizarding place that would look after children for the parents that had to work. It was mostly Muggle-born and half-bloods that used it, since most of the purebloods had plenty of money and the ones that didn’t, well, it was mostly the wives that didn’t work, so they could take care of whatever children they had.”
“I’m going to miss you when you go back to school,” said Petunia with a wistful look on her face.
“And I will miss you,” said Remus taking Petunia into his arms and giving her a gentle kiss. “More then you know.”
“Oh, I think I have an idea,” said Petunia. “I miss you even when I see you practically every day. The minute you leave I get all sad and I’m sure it’ll be even worse with you away at Hogwarts.”
“I feel the same,” Remus assured her giving her a hug. “I’ll write you every week without fail and hopefully, the year will pass relatively quickly. After all, you have your classes and I have mine, and that ought to keep us busy enough to hopefully, not miss each other too much.”
“Maybe,” Petunia said sounding extremely doubtful a feeling which Remus shared although he kept his thoughts to himself.
“I’ll make sure I come visit on holidays and maybe, it would be possible for you to come to Hogsmeade to see me on Hogsmeade weekends?”
“I don’t know if that’s possible, but I’ll ask dad and let you know,” Petunia promised giving him another kiss.
~~~Remus and Petunia~~~