SCREAM | ginny w.

SCREAM | four

A week had passed under Remus Lupin's care. They were both very private people, something that Vera appreciated. She much preferred an endless silence to someone talking her head off. Or at least, that's what she thought until she met Molly Weasley.

The day had started like any other: with a cup of tea. British people drank a lot of tea, Remus had told her, and there was a proper way to do it. It was the easiest and fastest way to make someone feel at home, he'd said. Pour them a cup of tea and they'll pour their heart out to you. Vera wasn't exactly pouring her heart out, but she had most certainly come to love the routine of it. Water. Kettle. Tea bag. Boil. Mug. Pour. Milk. Sugar. Steep. Drink.

It was only when Remus came in the front door, soaked to the bone (until he waved his wand and dried himself off) despite the sunshine outside that Vera started to grow curious.  It didn't last for long, as Remus instantly started gathering things and explained what was going on.

"Dumbledore's asked for a favor," he said simply. "I'll only be gone three days, but I don't feel right leaving you here alone. Not that I don't trust you, of course," he added on quickly. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"Alright," Vera said, standing as well. The initial awkwardness between the two had all but faded. Remus had Vera's trust, or at the very least, her appreciation. "Should I get my things?"

"Yes, Dumbledore wants you to go to the Weasley's. They're very kind people, though I will warn you, it might be a bit... much. But they will protect you and you'll get to spend some time with kids around your age. I'll wait down here, we'll apparate," Remus said, nodding his head towards the stairs. Vera set her mug down and hurried up the stairs, gathering her things in a single swift motion: she had never taken them out of her bag to begin with. She hurried back down the stairs and out the door, where Remus waited for her just outside the apparition boundary. She grabbed his arm and they spun on the spot.

After a mind numbing vacuum of darkness, they landed in what appeared to be an empty field, with grass as high as Vera's waist. In a few steps, a tall, rickety house appeared. Vera stared at it, enamored. She had never seen a house that looked quite as homely as this one did. It was clearly hand-constructed, or at least made with magic by the inhabitants, and had a patchwork-quilt charm about it. "I'll take you to the door so they don't think you're trying to kill them," Remus said, smiling good humoredly. Vera smiled dryly, in another time, she very well might have been.

Remus walked to the door, knocked once, then twice in quick bursts. "Who's there?" came a wary voice from just inside the door.

"It is I, Remus John Lupin, bringing Vera on Dumbledore's request," Remus said calmly, and the door swung open to reveal a woman who beamed as she set her eyes on Vera. The house smelled like baking bread and though the redheaded woman wore an apron over her patch-worked dress, not a speck was on either.

"Oh, Vera, it's so lovely to meet you, I've heard so much from Dumbledore. That man!" The woman shook her head giddily and set her eyes on Remus. Vera resisted the urge to speak: she had her own thoughts about Dumbledore, though he had been generous enough to allow her a place in his school. "Are you going to stay for breakfast, Remus?"

"No, I must be off. They're expecting me, unfortunately," Remus grimaced, and the woman shot him a look of pity, which Remus avoided acknowledging. "Vera, I'll be back in a few days. I trust that you'll be alright."

She smiled at him dryly, though she had to admit that she would miss him, not that she was going to tell him. "Don't worry about me, Remus," Vera assured him, though a part of her really quite hoped that he would. A nagging part of her brain kept telling her that he was going to leave and never come back, and that Vera would be stuck with this chatty redheaded woman until she was of age. Not that she disliked this new figure, but she much preferred Remus to any other adult she had met since her parents died and she was taken.