Catch Me If You Can → George Weasley

Thirty-Two

The last day of school. The day most students were looking forward to, to go home and see their parents. Not Apollo. He was dreading this day. Hell, he wished it would never come. But, like every year, it came. Before he could leave, he had one thing he had to do. Talk to Remus Lupin.

He made his way through the halls, towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. He knocked on the door, hands fidgeting, looking for something to do. A soft "come in" came from inside. Apollo opened the door tentatively, closing it behind him. It was only him and Remus in the room.

Remus glanced up from his bags that he was packing. Upon seeing Apollo's face, he nearly broke down. He bit his lip, trying to keep the tears at bay. He looked, in short, awful. "I'm so-"

"Don't," Apollo quickly said, cutting him off. "You weren't in control. It's not your fault, so don't apologize." He took a step closer, slowly, as though maybe Remus would not want him to.

When he got close enough, Remus engulfed him in a tight hug. Afraid he would disappear. That was enough to bring both of them to tears as Apollo slowly brought his arms up and hugged back. For a while, they stayed there, in silence. Apollo was eventually the one to pull away, quickly wiping the tears from his eyes.

"I really am sorry, Apollo," Remus said quietly. "I didn't- this is what I wanted to avoid. It was too dangerous, I never should have let you near me... it was stupid and you got hurt because of me." He timidly reached towards Apollo's face, then quickly pulled it back. He adverted his eyes, scared to look anymore in fear he'd tear up again.

"It's not your fault," Apollo repeated firmly. He could not leave while Remus blamed himself, it was not fair. He could not allow that. "I made my choices. I got hurt because of me and no one else, like every time."

Remus was silent for a moment. "You're a good kid," he whispered. He cleared his throat. "There, uh, was something I wanted to ask you," he said hesitantly.

Apollo leaned back on one of the tables, raising an eyebrow. "What?" he asked. It came off rudely, the way he did not intend it. Remus seemed to know that and took a deep breath.

"There's this... rebellion, or sorts," he articulated carefully. "It's called the Order of the Phoenix. We're a group of wizards trying to stop Voldemort and his followers. I'm sure you've heard about the rise in activity from Death Eaters, yes?"

"Of course," Apollo responded with a breathless scoff. "My father's one."

Remus pursed his lips, wanting to scare away the thoughts that made his heart itch. The thoughts that told him to take this boy in, despite knowing he could not do so. "I wanted to ask... if you wanted to join," he said quietly. "I know you're young, and I'm asking a lot. I don't mean to. But... we could use your help."

"Who runs this?" Apollo asked, trying to fiend disinterest but for once, failing.

"Dumbledore," Remus said quietly, having noticed from the boy's body language how he felt about the headmaster.

Apollo pressed his lips together at the name. Of course it was Dumbledore. He just could not be escaped. On the other hand, if Apollo suppressed his disdain for Dumbledore, he could help Remus. Apollo did not consider himself the type to do good. He was no hero, far from it. He did consider himself the type to do anything for the people he cared about, however. As well as to benefit himself.

"I'm in," Apollo said at last, looking at Remus directly in his eyes. "For you. Not for this Voldemort bullshit, not for some Harry Potter protection squad thing, and definitely not to be another sacrifice in Dumbledore's war. For you." There was a moment of silence as Apollo once more stood up properly. "When is a good time for me to punch Snape in the face?"

"What?" Remus asked, blinking in surprise.

"I could hex him instead."

"Why would you-"

"He outed you as a werewolf. That's why you're leaving, isn't it? He has to pay for that. I can't let him get away with being a complete asshole just because he's a jealous cunt."

Through Apollo's rising anger, Remus placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. With tears pooling in the corner of his eyes, Remus pulling the Ravenclaw boy into a tight hug once more. At first, Apollo was surprised at the suddenness. Slowly, he eased into it, however, and wrapped his arms around Remus. It brought a certain comfort, Apollo found. One that he would miss, as much as he hated himself for it.

~~~~~

The next thing Apollo knew, he was on the train ride home, in a cabin with Adrian, Cedric and Sammy. The scenery passed outside the window, taking them far away from Hogwarts. For most, it would be exciting. Not for Apollo.

"Please don't be shy to come over," Cedric said to Apollo. "Run away from home, don't look back. You don't deserve what your father does to you."

"I'll think about it," Apollo said, as he does every time Cedric said this. This time, he meant it. It felt like things were looking up, so maybe it was time he took his life into his own hands once and for all. Get away from his father. The thought was too surreal.

The conversation shifted to one of reminiscing about the year as the train closed in on the station, soon coming to a stop. Apollo and his friends gathered their things, a bit reluctant to get off and go home. Apollo especially. Before stepping off, Adrian squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. With a deep breath Apollo made his way off the train.

The atmosphere felt heavier with every step he took. He was like Atlas holding up the sky. The idea of going home was enough to petrify him. He had to force himself to breathe as he made his way to the flu network.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, Apollo was home. The white walls stared down at him, the grass on the lawn dead as it had not been cared for since his mother's death. The stones making up the walkway to the door were covered in moss. He did not make a sound as he made his way to the front door and then inside the house.

He tried to stay quiet, but the door squeaked as he closed it. He winced. Heavy footsteps approached from the other room. Around the corner came his father. Unkept brown hair, dry pale skin, and arms of muscles approached, beer bottle in hand. Donald Payne, upon seeing his son, rolled his eyes and groaned.

"You're back, you bastard," Donald noted gruffly. "Didn't die yet?"

Apollo scowled and did not say a word. He refused to let his fear, his unease, show. He would not offer the satisfaction.

Donald scoffed. "Can't answer your old man, huh?" With his free hand, he delivered a slap to Apollo's face. "How about now?"

Apollo flinched back, but glared. "Fuck you," he spat.

Donald smiled sadistically. "There's my son. Now get out of my sight."

Apollo was happy to comply. With his bags in hand, he left up the stairs to his bedroom. He knew he could not stay here. And so, upon locking the door behind him, he got to work drafting a letter. To Cedric. After all this time, he would finally take up the offer. He'd be gone by the end of the week.