Flat hunting, and the Marauder that got left out of the club Eep, sorry for the break in posting! There still a lot more to come and we are still writing, but we both got caught up in RL. Anyway, without furtha ado, more fic:
Remus' foot bounced anxiously under the table at a little cafe just off Diagon, where he'd agreed to meet Peter. His father really hadn't said much about him moving out with a "friend," and Remus didn't volunteer the fact that they were looking for a one bedroom flat. When he'd come down for breakfast in the morning, he'd found the Prophet open to the classifieds with ads for a few two bedroom flats circled. Remus told himself his dad was just being helpful, but part of him wondered if he was just trying to speed up Remus' move.
He curled his fingers around his teacup and took a sip, idly perusing the ads for one bedrooms near the sea as he waited for Peter. There were a few, but the rent was unlisted, and that made Remus a little nervous.
Peter slid into the seat across from Remus, smiling. "Hi," he murmured, feeling little bursts of happiness at seeing Remus again. Remus' stay in Glasgow hadn't seemed long enough, and it had been too long since they'd seen each other--but Peter had a feeling it would always be too long, until they actually got to move in together. He leaned over the table, peering at the paper. "Missed you," he breathed.
Remus grinned, resisting the urge to slide his foot over against Peter's. The cafe tables were a little too small for the gesture to be hidden, and Remus was still a little leery of showing affection in public after what had happened to him, even if a lot of people probably already knew about them now through rumours and gossip. "I missed you, too. How's your mum?" he asked. She seemed okay when he'd visited, but there was no question she was changed now.
Peter shrugged. "She...smiles more now," he said. He thought it might be because he was spending more time with her and less time working. The nightmares hadn't gone away entirely, but they had lessened dramatically after Remus had forgiven him. "She really likes you, Remus. She's talked about you." He smiled. "I had to promise we'll come for dinner on Sundays."
Remus felt warmed and encouraged that Mrs. Pettigrew didn't resent him for taking Peter away. Not that he thuoght she would, she was too nice, but Remus had still worried, considering Peter was moving out less than a year after Peter's dad died. "Sounds brilliant," Remus said, beaming at Peter. "I really like your mum, too. She's been really amazing, you know."
"Yeah, she really has," Peter said. He looked down at his teacup and shrugged. "I reckon she wants to keep me close, but...I don't know, it's nice, I think." He smiled. "How's your dad? Is he all right with your moving out?"
They were lucky, Remus thought. Their friends were comfortable enough with their relationship to joke about it (though, in retrospect, they were fine with Remus being a werewolf, so he wasn't sure why he was ever worried), and Peter's mum accepted them. "It is nice. Might have to adopt her, actually" he said, grinning, but his smile slipped slightly at Peter's question and he took another drink of his tea. He handed the paper over to Peter. "He did some preliminary looking for us," he answered, wondering if Peter would care that he hadn't told his dad yet.
Peter's eyebrows went up a little when he saw the ones Remus' dad had circled. "That was nice of him. But I dunno, we might not be able to afford a flat with two bedrooms." He glanced up at Remus with a tiny grin. "Might have to share. Just to be...mm, economically responsible. At least until I get through the programme and start making more money." He sipped at his tea, wondering if Remus' dad would hate him if he ever found out Remus and Peter weren't just roommates.
Remus pursed his lips, but gave Peter a sly look over his teacup. "Of course. Economically responsible." Remus fingered the rim of his cup for a moment after setting it back down. "I only hope he doesn't expect an invite to dinner any time soon," he added, and this time he frowned a bit and then gave Peter an apologetic look. "Sorry."
Peter shrugged. "We could invite him over early on and transfigure the bed into two," he suggested. "Or not offer a tour." He didn't entirely understand the relationship between Remus and his da, but he knew it wasn't really all that great. He wondered if he ought to ask about it, or if he should just pretend it didn't matter. "Anyway, it was nice of him to help."
Remus laughed at that, thinking his dad would roll his eyes at the idea they were living like dorm mates still, two beds in one room, but it was probably better than the alternative. He shifted a little closer so he could look at the paper with Peter. "Yeah, it was. Where do you want to start, then? They all have Aparition coordinates here," he pointed out, then smiled at Peter, wishing he could touch him or kiss him now that they were closer.
"Um..." Peter shrugged. "Which one looks best to you? Any of them mention being by the sea?" He grinned.
"A few." Remus pointed to one, then another and shrugged. He really didn't know how to go about this, but he supposed they'd figure it out. "I guess we could start with what's closest and work from there."
"Right." Peter drained his cup and stood. "Meet you there?" A grin spread across his face. They were looking at flats together!
Remus chuckled at Peter's eagerness, then stood as well, folding the paper until his arm. "Sure," he said, and then immediately disappeared with a crack!
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
It was a bit of a shock, on both counts. One, that Dumbledore had some secret organisation to work against Voldemort, the Order of the Phoenix. And two, that Peter wasn't there at the meeting. The letter Remus got had instructed him not to speak about it, but he was going to talk to Peter about it anyway. Peter seemed to be taking the instructions to heart, though, so he didn't. Besides, they hadn't yet moved in to the flat they'd found, so it was easy to forget or overlook things like that in their letters.
Remus had gone to the first meeting fully expecting him, though. James, Sirius and Lily were all there, but no Peter. It was uncomfortable to realise they'd been divided, by the Headmaster, or by someone else, Remus wasn't sure, but the Maraduers all seemed content to pretend it hadn't happened, made awkward small talk after the metting and then gone their own ways. It took a few days after the meeting to realise that if anyone was going to question Peter's exclusion, it would have to be him. A week after the first Order meeting he attended, Remus Apparated to the gates of Hogwarts and headed towards the castle.
It was strange being here again. It was both familiar and foreign feeling now, though the upper years who remembered him stared at him in the corridors, some with interest and some with animosity. He was thankful when he finally reached the Headmaster's office, and the Gargoyle sprung open like it expected him. He wondered if that was an Order thing, or if the Headmaster had already been alerted to his presence in the school, but made his way up the stairs and into the door of his office without questioning it.
"Headmaster," Remus said, stepping into the room a few feet. "I was wondering if I could have a word with you, If I'm not interrupting anything."
Dumbledore gave Remus a kind smile, though his blue eyes looked tired. "Of course, Mr Lupin. How are you? Your NEWTs all came out well, I hope? You're certainly looking much better than the last time I saw you in my office."
Remus exhaled a breathy, soundless laugh, and half smiled. "I feel a lot better than the last I was here." Remus hesitated for a moment and then moved completely into the room to Dumbledore's desk. "And N.E.W.T.s went as well as I could have hoped, given the circumstances. I hope you've been well." This was weird. He was trying to talk to the Headmaster like an adult rather than a student, and Remus wondered if he ought to be trying that at all.
Dumbledore nodded. "Quite well, thank you," he said. "Please, have a seat. Would you like some tea? Or a sherbert lemon? They're very good, though perhaps you're familiar with Muggle sweets."
Remus had been hovering behind the chair, but moved to take a seat when Dumbledore offered, and tried valiantly not to wrinkle his nose at the offered sweets. Chocolate would have been nice though, relaxing. "Um, just tea, thanks." As soon as he said it, he started to second guess the entire idea of coming here at all, and here he had just prolonged things with tea!
"Very good," Dumbledore said, and poured two cups of tea. He went through the motions of adding milk and sugar to his own and offering the same to Remus, then settled back in his chair and studied Remus' face. "I am under no illusion that this is a social call, Mr Lupin," he said, a hint of humour creeping into his voice. "What is troubling you?"
Remus took a sip from his cup, glancing up at Dumbledore at the question and attempting to smile. He hadn't really planned what he was going to say, though, so for a moment he dropped his eyes and looked into his tea. When he looked back up again, a faint, thoughtful frown was creasing his brows. "Peter... Peter wasn't at the meeting."
"Ahh." Dumbledore took a sip of his tea. "I believe Mr Pettigrew is rather too...shall we say, unstable? to be burdened with membership in the Order at this time. I understand he is under consideration for the Auror Training Programme at the Ministry." He smiled. "Alastor will be able to monitor his progress there."
Unstable. For a brief moment there was a flash of anger that ran through Remus, but he pushed it aside immediately, because he immediately understood. He blinked at Dumbledore for a long moment anyway, something between mild surprise and disappointment on his face, then he shook his head and looked away. "He made a mistake. He knows that."
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and watched Remus for a moment. "I am fond of Mr Pettigrew," he said finally, his tone mild. "I think he is a well-meaning young man who cares a great deal for his friends. Particularly you, of course." He smiled a little. "And I am well aware of the fact that you think quite highly of him." He sipped his tea again, his gaze never leaving Remus' face.
"Are you certain, Remus, that you aren't judging him based on your own hopes, rather than the truth?"
Remus shifted a little when Dumbledore spoke of how they felt about each other. The subject of their relationship had been amazingly more comfortable in the face of the Headmaster when Remus was heavily medicated. His eyes snapped up again, however, both at the question posed and at the fact the Headmaster had just called him Remus. "Yes," he said immediately. "Yes. I-- I know him better than anyone." He knows how well you know him, idiot. Remus shifted again.
Dumbledore nodded slowly, looking thoughtful. "I understand the two of you are planning to, hm, set up house together? I know you were quite upset with the manner in which he handled your attackers. Am I right in presuming that you would not be...ah, moving forward with these plans, were you at all in doubt about his...mm, the matter of his remorse?"
Remus wondered, not for the first time, if Dumbledore was a bloody mind reader. His eyes widened just slightly as Dumbledore mentioned their plans as though Remus had mentioned them over tea, and sat back in his chair a bit, staring at him. "No, I wouldn't," he said after a pause. "He punished himself. I think myself and Mrs. Pettigrew agree he probably punished himself more than either of us would have." Remus remembered how tired Peter looked when he'd first seen him over the summer, how he'd lost weight, how he'd sobbed on Remus' shoulder. Remus gave another breathy, mirthless laugh. "She had to ask me to stop him."
The Headmaster hummed thoughtfully and studied his tea for a moment. After a long time, he said quietly, "Would I be correct in assuming, Remus, that given the...nature of your relationship with Peter...you will tell him about this, whether we invite him to join us or not?" There was no judgment in his voice, merely inquiry.
Remus thought on that, taking a sip of his tea to collect his thoughts, then replacing the cup on the desk in front of him. "I don't suspect I could lie to him, or that he wouldn't wonder where I was going that I couldn't tell him about." Remus paused and licked his lips. "I do want to be a part of the Order, but I-- I won't-- I'm not going to betray your trust. So, if it's all right with you..." Remus paused, almost disbelieving what he was about to say. "I think if you're not going to ask Peter to join, I'd like you to Obliviate me."
Dumbledore nodded. After another long pause, he looked back at Remus and smiled, a surprisingly warm smile. "Such a love is something that should not be taken lightly." He tapped his fingertips against his teacup. "If you vouch for Peter, he will be welcome here."
Relief flooded Remus and he returned Dumbledore's smile, beaming at him. If he was honest, a big part of it was that he wasn't going to be staring down the end of Dumbledore's wand! There had been a frightening few seconds there (which felt like hours) that he was afraid the Headmaster might take him up on his offer to Obliviate him. Once that faded the relief about Peter hit. "He's a good man," Remus said quickly. "Thank you."