Hurt | Remus Lupin

~51~ Harry in the fireplace

I was pleased to hear that the twins were causing mayhem at school. Almost every night, McGonagall would come to Grimmaulds place just to tell us all the hot juicy gossip, and how even the professors were teaming up to piss off Umbridge. By the end of her stories, we would all be bent over with stitches in our sides as he laughed.

The Easter Holidays soon came rolling around, and I was sitting at the kitchen table with Remus. He was pouring over something while I was helping myself to some chocolate that Mrs. Weasley sent.

"Here." I handed him a piece.

"Sirius?"

Remus jumped and I toppled out of my chair in surprise. We turned around to see Harry's head sticking in the fireplace.

"What the hell Harry?" I hissed angrily.

"Harry!" Remus said, looking thoroughly shocked. "What are you —what's happened, is everything all right?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "I just wondered — I mean, I just fancied a —a chat with Sirius."

"I'll call him," said Remus, getting to his feet, still looking perplexed."He went upstairs to look for Kreacher, he seems to be hiding in the attic again. . . ."

Remus ran off and Harry and I looked at each other. I put my hands on my hips. "Just fancying a chat with Sirius?"

"Well, it's important!" Harry cried. "This is really uncomfortable. My knees hurt. How do you guys always do this?"

"Serves you right, stupid boy." I snarled.

"You remind me of Mrs. Weasley every passing day." he said.

"WELL OF COURSE! WHAT IF UMBRIDGE CATCHES YOU? I'M WORRIED!"

Soon, Remus and Sirius returned, Sirius looking worried.

"What is it?" said Sirius urgently, sweeping his long dark hair out of his eyes and dropping to the ground in front of the fire, so that he and Harry were on a level; Remus knelt down too, looking very concerned, and I knelt down on the other side. "Are you all right? Do you need help?"

"No," said Harry, "it's nothing like that. . . . I just wanted to talk. . . about my dad. . . ."

Remus and Sirius looked at each other with surprised, and I scrunched up my face.

"Seriously? Now? Wait, where are you even talking from? I thought all the fireplaces were blocked off except..... oh Harry.... you didn't." I trailed off.

He grimaced. "Right, well that's exactly the reason I will hurry into what I wanted to talk about. I saw all of you guys after your O.W.L.S exams, and you were just sitting around. And then Snape just came and Sirius you said you were bored. So then my dad started messing with Snape. And it seems like Snape never even actually did anything for you guys to bully him so much. So I just.... was my dad a bad person?"

I wasn't even sure if I should be here for this conversation, but I stayed anyway, not saying a word.

Then Remus said quietly, "I wouldn't like you to judge your father on what you saw there, Harry. He was only fifteen —"

"I'm fifteen!" said Harry heatedly

"Look, Harry," said Sirius placatingly, "James and Snape hated each other from the moment they set eyes on each other, it was just one of those things, you can understand that, can't you? I think James was everything Snape wanted to be — he was popular, he was good at Quidditch, good at pretty much everything. And Snape was just this little oddball who was up to his eyes in the Dark Arts and James —whatever else he may have appeared to you, Harry — always hated the Dark Arts."