Harry's heart was beating hard enough that he didn't quite know if it was from anxious anticipation or nervousness—or perhaps just plain old excitement, which he hadn't felt in a while.
Not the plain excitement for something unquestionably good, at least. Most of the things he'd been looking forward to recently always held a twinge of anxiety to them given there was always a sad or dreading twinge to them for one reason or another.
Meeting Remus though?
For once channeling an optimism he hadn't truly felt since last year, Harry had full faith this would only be a good thing, at the very least for the remainder of this Christmas break. Everything else complicated about having a werewolf for a godfather would come later—but these next couple weeks were just about meeting and spending time with someone he honestly should've known his whole life.
Family, according to what his parents would've wanted.
The man who should've raised him, had the world been the just and good place it only pretended to be.
Harry knew from the many, many letters they'd managed to exchange in the months since he first reached out that he liked Remus already. He wasn't quite sure about the whole concept of having a family or what that would entail, if Remus even wanted that but… he did trust the kindly werewolf in many ways already. And frankly at this point in life, Harry considered trust even more important to him than how he felt talking in a conversation or spending time with someone. Tons of people he liked well enough to hang out with, but he only trusted a precious few, and he was willing to give Remus one of those spots in his heart if the man wanted it.
Because well… the biggest thing Harry was concerned about for this trip, was how self-depreciating Remus was. How hyper aware he was about how others treated werewolves, and his gut-wrenching fear of dragging Harry down with him by association. Harry already knew Remus would hesitate and try and put distance between them even if he personally didn't want to, out of fear and worried consideration.
Out of care, frankly.
Harry was very determined not to let that happen though.
Very few people had ever cared enough to want to fight for him before, so even if Remus was a bit of a weak fighter—mainly for himself it seemed—Harry did not want to just let that go.Besides… this whole thing was much the same way he'd instinctively grabbed Neville's hand that first day on the train: he hadn't thought a lot about it then or since, and he found himself not thinking too deeply on his core desire to have Remus in his life, which was honestly a refreshing change for him.
The trip to London had been a whirlwind, going home on the train was kind of trippy as it felt weird to be doing the trip in reverse. Sure he'd done it once, but he'd also been having a mental breakdown at the time so he couldn't really remember enjoying the train ride back to London as much as he had this trip. Besides, the Hogwarts Express had garland and floating lights all down the halls, and the trolley lady had many a holiday-themed treats which put him right into the Christmas spirit for sure. The gorgeous snow on the countryside before it melted into a cold yet bustling London had been enough to captivate the imagination, even if he hadn't had his friends around him playing games and excitedly talking about their holiday plans to distract him.
The plan had gone off without a hitch—even better as Ron had already been on a carriage and halfway to the train when someone finally thought to ask why Harry was accompanying them. It'd been Susan, because of course it was, and no one had batted an eye when the twins happily claimed him as their new holiday guest.
Professor Sprout had been standing there but didn't seem to care much as she was distracted making sure there were only three students per carriage as they loaded up, and from what Harry had gathered she was not quite close enough to Dumbledore to just go casually mention that Harry specifically had left the castle. She wasn't his house head so he was not on her list of students to keep track of in any case; she probably completely assumed McGonagall was aware of her lions as always and so stayed in her lane.
Ginny was around but seeming to be in deep conversation with Luna and Melody and could care less what her brothers and upperclassmen were saying. Actually, Ginny and Melody were talking with a seriousness that implied the topic was quidditch, and Luna was… also there. Included, but also clearly daydreaming rather than paying attention.
Still, his audience for the announcement he was spending Christmas with the Weasleys consisted of his Hufflepuff friends and also Lu, who did not care one bit either. It took Dean and Seamus until they were literally climbing up that steps of the Hogwarts Express to do a double take and remember he wasn't supposed to be with them, but Harry just said his plans had changed and they were happy to not question it, just adding one more player into their card game plans for the long train ride.
Neville knew what he was really doing but obviously said nothing either way.
All in all the train ride back had been fun, managing to get his spirits up in tune with the happy season it was.
The exchange back at King's Crossing also went really well, which Harry attributed mostly to Fred and George's credit. Since none of their siblings had even heard about them supposedly bringing a friend home, they went right to their parents while Harry delayed a bit, pretending he needed a moment to finish changing out of his robes into muggle clothes—an excuse none of his Gryffindor friends blinked at for fear of commenting on his wardrobe choices. Within five minutes the twins had shaken off their family and as Harry hopped off the train they'd scooped him up by the arms and jumped into one of the many available floo entrances before anyone could look twice at the three red heads' beelining across the platform. Also, when the twins were on a mission most light-hearted people looked the other way, knowing only trouble would come of it.
Harry's change of clothes was actually a black hoodie and plain jeans over snow boots, a dark green beanie hiding his hair once again so at the speed with which they made it out of there and without his crazy colored clothes and neon hair signaling who he was, he very much doubted anyone that glanced their way would immediately know the twins had just made off with Harry Potter.
His second time in the floo network went much better as now he had some practice, although he was still clinging tightly to Fred's arm the entire time—the twin thankfully catching him when they landed and he swayed from the dizziness of it all.
"We made good time!" Fred announced, pleased. George appeared from the fireplace behind them a literal second later, both automatically doing a quick scan of the Leaky Cauldron for anything of note. They didn't recognize anyone which was good, but you never knew. "We've got a half hour until we need to meet Charlie in front of Gringotts. It's better than we normally do, we always seem to be late somehow."
"Don't jinx us, we're going to get distracted by Zonko's and still be late to meet Charlie," George huffed, and Harry couldn't help but giggle when Fred didn't argue the point, completely unconcerned.
"The entrance is over here, yeah?" He lead the way to the 'storage room' that had the magical brick wall into the alley, the twins following suit. Once semi-alone though, they simply gave him a double high five and knowing grins.
"Gonna double back then?"
"The disguise works pretty well but be sure no one sees you go back,"
"And happy Christmas!"
"—if we don't talk to you before the day itself!" They did their quick tennis-match exchange of talking and Harry beamed.
"Merry Christmas to you two too! I think I have a way of not being seen, don't worry. If it works out and Moony thinks it's a good idea I'll tell you about it after break," He promised and Fred—because it was always Fred fidgeting if he were slightly anxious about something—fixed his beanie for him as a strand of blood red hair almost poked through.
"Good luck then! Be sure to owl if you need anything, though we might be grounded pretty quickly after this…"
"Maybe owl Ginny and she can tell us, if you trust her."
"I probably would, to deliver a message at least… it might be a bit coded though to prevent your parents from learning anything." He admitted.
"No worries, I'm sure we can figure it out," George winked, then turned to tap the brick wall behind him, the two of them slipping out without much more fuss.
"Be sure to say hi to Mr. Moony from us!" Was their parting call before the din of the alley swept them up, and Harry laughed as he waved them bye, the wall closing just as quickly as it had appeared.
Finally alone, he slipped his invisibility cloak out of his bottomless bag and put it back on—not so much sneaking as walking confidently out of the Leaky Cauldron's front door and into muggle London without a single soul seeing him.
000
Finding Remus wasn't hard.
For the moment just after slipping into the café they'd agreed to meet at, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to pick the werewolf out on sight. He didn't actually know what the man looked like after all, as the scrapbook Hagrid had given him at the end of last year only had pictures of his parents in it, none of their old school friends. Still, he had faith his unofficial godfather would come to him if he saw him, so he'd removed his invisibility cloak and tucked it back into his bag in the closed vestibule, along with the beanie as he fixed his hair the best he could after the cold wind and dreary weather outside had made it pretty disheveled.
He was quite early so maybe he would have to wait, or if they didn't recognize each other maybe he could open a chocolate frog or something to clue any wizards around that he was one of them or—
Ah, but all his worrying was for nothing when he immediately picked out a man with light brown hair reading a book in the back corner.
His parents had died when they were 21, and if Remus was in their class then the man was around 32 or so now… but he looked notably younger than that. Even with the grey in his hair that Harry could see from across the entire sparsely-populated café, the thinness around the edges of his jaw and the light scars crisscrossing his face, he still looked like he could be a college student. A well-weathered college student, like he was a TA that had spent the last six months straight pulling all-nighters to grade tests.
Perhaps he looked younger than he was, considering his face was young but he coupled it with a slightly oversized old-man jacket… one that Harry was instantly making plans to replace, or at least fix up for Christmas.
So no, he'd had no prior notion to what Remus looked like before now, but at the same time Harry had, on many occasions, just imagined the gentle werewolf taking the time to patiently write out pages and pages of letters to send to him at some unknown little kitchen, and the man now reading a book with delicate posture and curling around the cup of tea in front of him fit everything Harry had ever imagined about the man.
Everyone in this shop was in very passible muggle clothes so he couldn't just pick out a wizard that way, and it was probably a little too on the nose to guess that the one man with scars would be a werewolf but…
He slipped around the tables on quiet feet to get nearer to him, getting reasonably close when light brown eyes snapped up in alarm at whoever was approaching him—then went wide as saucers.
"Remus?" He questioned, still unsure but the doubt slipping away quick at the large reaction of shock he was getting.
"H-Harry!"
Yep, definitely him.
"Remus!" He beamed, and they had a brief moment of awkwardness when the man almost attempted to stand like he wasn't sure what to do with himself… but to be fair neither did Harry. Did they hug? He had half a thought as Harry himself was a pretty huggy guy, but only with his friends so far, and he felt like Remus was a friend but this was also the first time they'd even met and—
Harry just slipped into the chair beside the werewolf at the small round table during Remus' hesitation, saving the both of them from having to do anything right now.
"You actually came!"
"Of course I did… you were quite persuasive after all." Remus sighed, sounding a little weary but the small pull at the corner of his lips betrayed his amusement at his antics too. "I wasn't going to just leave you to show up at a muggle café alone obviously, but Harry… as happy as I am to see you, you don't have to spend the entire holiday here if you wanted to split the time between here or Hogwarts, or a at a friend's—"
Harry made a face.
On one hand it was very considerate, giving him options if it turned out he didn't enjoy this, like he was a normal impulsive Gryffindor who had just decided to descend on him without really giving it any thought and might end up regretting it.
On the other hand, they'd already had this exact exchange over letters quite literally over a dozen times and if Remus didn't believe he was serious on his decision right now, he clearly either thought Harry was stupid, or still could not truly believe someone would want to be around him for such a long period of time.
Despite being annoyed at how much effort he'd just put into getting here safely being dismissed as him 'not thinking it through', Harry also knew that unfortunately Remus was mainly thinking the latter so decided to forgive him.
"I told you like five times already that I'm fine, Remus. I want to!" He smiled as surely as he could, the werewolf just fluttering a bit.
"If you're sure…"
"I am."
"Well if you change your mind I'll take you wherever you want to go at any moment, okay? Back to Hogwarts or a friend's—"
Harry rolled his eyes dramatically. "Remus, it's almost like you don't want to spend Christmas with me."
"What!? Not that's not it at all—I'm sorry if I-"
"It's fine, I promise," He laughed it off but felt kind of… sad, at how hesitant he was being.
Unwillingly he remembered Mrs. Malfoy's words about how he'd been 'laughed out of the Ministry'… clearly Remus had wanted to do right by him but had ultimately failed, and his self confidence in being someone to Harry had shattered along with it.
If what he heard about the treatment of werewolves was true, and he'd been one his whole life, he was probably conditioned to think no one actually wanted to be around him. And he was a genuinely kind man who cared about others, and so never forced his presence on someone if he could help it.
But Harry couldn't help but think that it must be so… lonely.
So yeah, maybe this was a bit awkward and Remus was way more fluttering and hesitant in person than the solid, reassuring presence he was over letters, but Harry knew that guy was in there somewhere. The same way Draco was always so much more talkative over letter but at the core of it he was still the same person no matter how they were communicating.
He was determined to make it work and for neither of them to be alone anymore. He almost couldn't stomach the idea of just ignoring Remus, though he acknowledged that was maybe him just empathizing too hard right now.
How hard could it be, after all? He'd befriended a bunch of Slytherins when he had no right to, and somehow his parents had made a lifelong friend of this flighty werewolf, so he just had to recreate it somehow.
"Did you have anything in mind for this holiday then? I'm still missing a lot of presents for some friends—I need to make a trip to some muggle shops at some point." He broke the ice, Remus finally seeming to relax slightly as he smiled.
"I didn't have anything planned, no. It seemed like you had a pretty solid idea of what you wanted out of this so I was going to let you decide." He admitted.
Harry puffed out his cheeks. "Are you calling me a brat!?"
"Self-assured, perhaps." He countered kindly, but no less smoothly which made Harry smile. He noted when the werewolf's eyes flickered a bit, both sad and somehow proud in one. "I do have to say, though I'm sure you've heard it many times before… you look just like your mother, Harry. I know you said you had red hair but it's still amazing to see just how much of her I see in you."
"…I might've heard that once or twice before," He deflected, ignoring how his heart clenched at the reminder that this man had known both his parents very well. He had already been told many stories over letter but… he was also kind of looking forward to hearing them from his calm voice as well. "The amount of people who were shocked I didn't look just like my dad was insane though—you could've heard a pin drop in the Great Hall when I was sorted, as if that did anything for my nerves!"
Remus chuckled. "Potter genes were always insane. Your father was practically a clone of your grandfather, and his grandfather and all that. I suppose people who ever once knew a Potter came with some preconceived notions."
"Try literally everyone." Harry complained.
Remus tilted his head as if just realizing something and smiled. "Actually, now that you mention it I'm glad to see you escaped the curse of needing glasses too. James always complained even magic couldn't fix them and it was a real hassle during quidditch in particular. As a seeker I'm sure that would've been annoying for you."
"Ah!" Harry perked up, curling his legs under himself on the chair to get more height so he could show him. "I actually do need glasses but I found a solution: magical contacts, see? These have a little bit of a rainbow color to them although you probably can't see them indoors,"
"That's incredible," The man blinked in surprise, attempting to look but Harry knew in this lighting he probably didn't see them, just taking on faith they were there. "It's good to know they're making advancements like that, I never imagined there'd be a fix for that."
"The guy who sells them does a lot of cool stuff—I actually asked him to make me a couple pairs of a glasses for a few friends of mine as Christmas presents. Did I tell you about Lake and Alden? Wait—I need to tell you what just happen with Alden last week—"
And like that he was off. He never really needed much of an excuse to talk and honestly the letter-writing process only slowed him down since his hand cramped and he got bored eventually. But as Remus just curled his hands around his cup of tea and nodded along, giving him full license to just go for it, he found the words flowing out just as easily as they ever did in their writings.
And there was something very comforting about the gentle, patient attention of warm golden eyes accepting his every word.
000
Side-along apparition sucked just like the last time he'd done it, but luckily it wasn't something you had to endure for long. It made him violently nauseous for a couple minutes and forced him to plop down on a low garden wall beside them after they landed, scowling at Remus' quiet chuckling at him while he did so, but it was ultimately over quick. It was also the fastest way back without being spotted, as the two of them going into Diagon was too big of a risk.
Even if Harry had offered to just trail alongside him under the cloak.
Remus had just seemed a bit amused at the suggestion but said this was faster and safer. It was only as they walked the rest of the way up a rather mossy path, that Harry realized even if Remus didn't appear to have anyone suspicious next to him, he was still a werewolf in what was essentially a Wizard hub—there was still a chance he'd be harassed for that alone, whether Harry was visible or not.
But the paranoia was ever-present these days so it didn't take much to shove it down in favor of his undying curiosity about where Remus lived though, as he accepted the werewolf's hand to help him stand and lead him down a rather overgrown road. They were in the countryside it seemed, or at least somewhere with a lot more green than London, but still populated enough for the road to be usable despite being a little covered in dirt and leaves and snow.
"The town is about a half hour walk down that way," Remus pointed behind them as they crossed and opening in the garden wall lining the road onto an even more overgrown cobbled path. "It's a muggle who owns this land—Mr. Benson. He's very nice and is letting me rent, though he does wander around… he's a lovely man, just a bit nosey. I try not to do any magic too obviously outside, but I put a muggle-repelling rune on the cottage to keep inside private."
Harry appreciated he actually bothered explaining all of this, most adults wouldn't care to—or in the case of a lot of Hogwarts teachers, would speak and just assume he already knew it or would figure it out on his own.
"Is it just you here?"
"For now. Mr. Benson is getting on in years and for a muggle to run a piece of land this large is difficult, so my understanding is he hires part-time help during warmer months to help with the animals. Those workers stay here but it's empty during the winter so he was kind enough to let me use the space for a while."
Harry knew from their letters that Remus hadn't actually been in his current residence long, so now he knew he'd probably only been here a couple months, if not weeks. He did wonder where he'd go come spring, but kept that to himself as he suspected Remus probably didn't know that himself.
"Do you see the animals often?" He couldn't help but wonder, seeing the large wooden fence and open fields not too far away amongst the trees and wondered if they'd have livestock wandering by.
"Not yet, I believe they're dairy cows so while it's a bit chilly I think they keep close to their barns which is farther up that way," Remus pointed and Harry felt a sense of safety getting his bearings like this, examining the lay of the land and memorizing the very short dirt path back to the road—and then of course the little series of homes carved out of the forest. The half dozen little buildings certainly did look like a farmer had built them himself some thirty years ago and it did indeed look like temporary muggle housing, not to mention probably not that winter-proofed at all… but they were neat and well maintained as anything on a busy farm would be.
You could also clearly tell which one was actually inhabited as the other apartments had locks on the doors and windows closed up, and while the one Remus lead them to had its windows drawn you could still see light coming from within.
"And here we are…it's not much, as I warned you, but please make yourself comfortable," The werewolf did seem a tad uncomfortable himself, or nervous even, as he welcomed him into the little place… or perhaps embarrassed, Harry wasn't sure, but he put on a good poker face to pretend he wasn't. Harry was just a little too used to being hyper aware of how the adults in the room were feeling at any given moment not to notice though.
Even by muggle standards it couldn't be considered nice, but the two-room shack was bigger than a cupboard or a shed so Harry literally did not give a quaffle. Hogwarts may have been a spoiling experience with luxurious feasts, four-poster beds, and being a literal freaking ancient castle, but he was pleased to realize his gratitude was still firmly in proper place. His expectations remained firmly where they once were when he was ready to accept living in a box on the street with his muggle-repelling stone just to be free from his relatives and Dumbledore, and despite liking his opulent bed and the fancy meals he also in no way needed or expected them even now.
He also kind of understood Remus' nerves though too. While proud of it at the time, he probably would've curled in on himself if any of his friends had seen his little set up at the back of the shed.
So while the werewolf didn't really know it, Harry probably understood more than anyoneelse how no matter how humble the shell, the tiny little home he'd carved out for himself within it was far more important and precious than most people would truly appreciate.
And it was a home, because even probably only having been here a couple weeks and also probably using magic to make it so, the furniture was old but clean and well-tended. There were things everywhere to give it a fully lived-in feel, the kitchen counter lined in jars and spices, and the whole place was warm and smelled like coffee and cinnamon and also the persistent aged wood of the building itself. The rug on the roughly done floor was fluffy and cozy to cover up the splinter-hazard it was, the curtains clearly custom Gryffindor red to cover the foggy glass that even magic could probably never clean completely clear again. The plaster on the walls was decades old and chipping, done a dirty brown color probably by Mr. Benson himself to hide the fact the normal tenants were typically filthy from working on the farm and could never keep entirely clean, but the half-empty bookshelves and artwork—mostly muggle actually—generally distracted from it.
It was way more impressive than the first two places Harry had lived, being a cupboard and a shed respectively, and was also somehow infinitely more 'homey' than his apartment in Contrair or even Hogwarts since that was still shared space… not to mention enchanted, potentially sentient, and really confusing sometimes to ever really call it his.
So Remus had literally nothing to be ashamed of… this was a major step up in Harry's world, in every way.
Since there was no way to properly communicate that in a casual conversation though, Harry resorted to being the presumptuous little shit half of Hogwarts thought he was.
He copied Remus in taking his shoes off at the door and then gleefully darted into the apartment to plop himself happily on the off-green couch without hesitation. He shot a cheeky grin at Remus as the man watched him do so, as if daring him to comment given he did just say to make himself at home, and thankfully it worked when he got a real smile back.
"It's warm! Is that an enchanted stone too?" He wondered, referencing the fact the walls were clearly not built for winter living.
"Not exactly. I have a Rune hobby so I put a few around to keep the warmth in for sure, but the fireplace does most of the heating," Remus followed him into the sitting area as he explained. It wasn't a far walk, the kitchen and living room area were essentially one although the furniture was carefully done to create the illusion it was two spaces… and even being in said second space, Harry was looking and very sure there was no fireplace on any of the four walls he was looking at right now.
"Fireplace?" Harry did a quick glance, seeing nothing pointedly.
"Ah, right… muggle residences only sometimes have a full working one so I have a portable hearth for heat when needed," He went to the bookcase across from where Harry was sitting and swung open the bottom half of it… revealing a full fireplace with fire burning happily if not lowly given it'd been unattended for a while.
Every muggle instinct he had said that was a huge fire hazard but… then again, magic probably. Somehow.
There was no chimney but no smoke and it didn't even make a sound despite him now seeing it so it was probably silenced and otherwise enchanted… crazy.
"Magic is still weird to me." He announced. "If I started a fire in a bookcase I'd get expelled."
Remus snorted, highly amused as he left the bookcase open for his guest to enjoy the fire's dancing flames. He reached up and took a small metal tin from an upper shelf though, pointedly shaking it at him.
"Also, please pay attention… while this fireplace isn't technically hooked up to the official network, in case of emergencies you can still floo out of it. The powder is here." He set the tin down pointedly, Harry sitting up a little straighter at the serious warning tone he had on.
Unfortunately, he could imagine what kind of emergencies might happen. And also a few that were probably unlikely, so the evidence of him having a bad case of paranoia was slowly increasing. He put it aside for now, knowing to just agree on this precaution without his normal sass for the sake of Remus' stress level given he was already nervous about this visit in the first place.
"Okay… that means I can't come back through it though?"
"That's right. You can usually get into the floo network from any fireplace, but you can only leave through an officially registered one. I believe it was done for wizards' security so we can escape from any muggle location if need be but also won't be popping out of muggle fireplaces if we stumble our words going in."
"Can that happen!?" Harry squeaked in alarm. "You can go to places you don't mean if you say the location wrong!?"
"Unfortunately, yes, which is why enunciation is important," he admitted, tilting his head a bit. "Have you used the floo before?"
"Not alone, I always had someone with me before, but I think I've probably got the hang of it if I needed to do it alone," He assured him… and then just in case slipped in: "I mean if something does happen I'll probably go to Draco's. If it's important."
It might've been a slightly awkward thing to tack on but he did so that if something did happen, Remus would know where to find him.
Whether that really registered or not, the werewolf nodded with a genuine smile even if there was some tension in the lines of his forehead. "If you're allowed into their wards then that's a safe bet."
It was probably a safe assumption that they had the best wards money could buy probably, so literally no one would be able to follow him, almost particularly the ministry. Harry assumed he had access to Malfoy Manor but he didn't really know… let's just hope he didn't need to find out.
A part of him was sad, but a large part of himself was very relieved an adult was just as aware about safety as him though, to bring up the best escape plan within minutes of getting here. Not just the floo but to tell a twelve-year-old where the nearest adult was, even if Mr. Benson was a muggle, not to mention how to get to the nearest town on foot.
He was mainly only sad because while Harry suspected he was paranoid, Remus probably was. Even worse, because he had every right to be as a werewolf, if how Daphne had explained things was anything to go by… did it even count as paranoia if they really were out to get you?
Harry shoved those thoughts down, wanting this to be a good holiday damn it and he was going to enjoy himself, not worry a hole into the carpet before he'd even properly settled in.
"If someone does visit, I don't have to immediately go though, right? Could I just hide?" He offered up slyly, deciding it was time for a much better topic of conversation he'd been meaning to get to anyway.
"Hide?" Remus hung his coat over one of the chairs around the small table in the kitchen, blinking at the child that abandoned the couch to practically dart around him and through the kitchen as well.
Harry could only beam at the mischief of it all.
"I didn't think I was that subtle when I told you in my letter, but you didn't have a good reaction at all!" He complained playfully, but then yanked the hood of his every-present, not-currently-invisible cloak up overhead and willed it to fall to cover feet and sleeves over hands. It sure felt like he had a hood over his head, but knew he'd disappeared to the casual eye when Moony froze.
Then the smile that exploded out of the werewolf made Harry really happy he'd come.
"You know what, it's coming back to me now… how much trouble have you gotten into with this already then?" He asked, clearly only pretending to be the adult because he tone was high-key amused. His hands went out uncertainly as if searching for him, but Harry just slipped back around table on silent feet and dropped the hood again to reappear across room with a dramatic twirl to show off the now-visible cloak.
"Not that much—the Slytherins have taught me that you don't necessarily need to sneak somewhere to get something, but it has been really handy if I'm cutting it too close to curfew. Also that whole thing with Norberta," he winced and Remus made a face as he remembered, looking caught between exasperated and curious himself.
"I'm going to need to hear you tell me about that again, with more details please because that sounded absolutely absurd. Tell me you were exaggerating in your letter,"
"Well… if I edited anything it was to tone it down less someone read those letters and Hagrid get implicated… again."
"Oh dear," He gave a sigh of real worry then, before leaning on counter beside him and sparing his new guest a once over. "Now that I'm looking at it actually… I don't really recall that being quite so silvery when your father wore it."
Harry whipped his hands above his head with a huge grin, wand in hand and about to show him when he froze solid.
"Wait… I was about to transfigure it before remembering that's probably a bad idea, right?"
"Yes, it would be. This counts as a break and you're not seventeen, so no magic for you. I can do whatever you need me to though," Moony offered, getting curious again. "On that note: transfigure what? The cloak?"
There was genuine alarm in his voice, but also seemed to already know him enough to suspect what was coming and was already half amused by it.
"It was such an old-lady-wallpaper-pattern before, and I wanted to wear it! Plus it didn't have sleeves and was way too big—but it's super magical so I didn't have to be a Transfiguration prodigy to fix it, it kind of just did what I wanted it to when I pointed a wand at it. It still does what I want it to, see?" He held his arm down and willed sleeve to just… extend, and it dropped near to floor before coming back up to normal length and fanning out into a wider than normal sleeve.
Remus blinked widely and came a little closer in interest to watch it. "That's fascinating actually… for as curious as your father was, he never dared mess with it given it was an heirloom."
Harry pressed his lips innocently… half regretting how entirely flippant his first-year self was about his family's legacy. The not had said it was his father's not that it was a Potter family heirloom after all. He supposed he'd developed a little bit more respect now that he'd learned more things about his parents over the year but back then hadn't given two shits—it was his now and he'd wanted to wear it, so he'd fixed it without thinking twice.
Oops.
Then again, he'd honestly probably do the same thing if given another opportunity, but maybe he would hesitate half a second this time? Who knew.
"I didn't really think it through to be honest… I got it for Christmas last year with an unsigned note saying it was my father's and that was it. I wanted to wear it so I just kinda did it—I don't think I realized how important it was." He admitted.
Remus considered that. "Well now that you mention it I'm not sure how long it's been in your family… I was under the impression invisibility cloaks only last a couple generations at most. James said he got it from his father but that easily could've meant his father bought him a new one, so maybe it was more a gift than an heirloom."
"It's kind of crazy people can just buy invisibility cloaks like this. I don't even use it for evil but I could've! Who else could be walking around with one!?" He complained, Remus laughing quietly.
"There are many ways to make yourself invisible, most being much more secure than a cloak you can still hear someone under. I think invisibility cloaks are a little less popular than more conventional methods given their hefty price."
"Wait, what methods!? Do they teach you that type of thing at Hogwarts?" He demanded.
"Most likely not, no." Remus seemed far too amused for how alarming this news was. "I could go into the specifics of course but I thought you were here on break. Still interested in schoolwork and spells?"
Harry caught the teasing tone and pouted, but couldn't fight the smile as he played along too.
"Well I guess not, but magic is still really cool sometimes. It's gonna take me until I graduate not to think some things are crazy or weird. It doesn't feel like schoolwork still, if it's interesting enough."
"That's a healthy attitude to have towards learning, although breaks are important too. Going off your letters it seems you normally have a novel's worth of things going on in your head at any given moment, am I right?"
Harry paused, before pointedly ignoring that to make a joke out of it.
"Well I can't not think when I have so many things to do! Even for break I don't have all my gifts ready and Christmas will be here before you know it! I'm still missing something for Theo and Hannah and… wait, I wrote the whole list down as I'll never remember everyone and I accidentally bought Susan two things already because I forgot so I need like, a full checklist or something," He still had his bag around his shoulders—force of habit, he never took it off—and started digging through it, knowing he had that list floating around in there somewhere.
"Sounds like shopping is on the agenda then." Moony allowed and Harry nodded vehemently as he unearthed his list.
"I actually really like shopping, I only ever go once a year pretty much before school starts. I mean Draco and I went twice this summer but the first time we really just goofing off, getting ice cream, and dodging Lockhart." He admitted.
"A respectable use of summertime, of course. And you've said some things about Professor Lockhart in your letters, but he can't be that bad, right?" Moony more sounded worried about that and Harry didn't even bother dignifying that with a response, just giving him a dry look that said enough before snapping his list out and coming to hang out around him by the kitchen counter.
"Most of what I need is in the muggle world actually, but I still can't think of what to get most of my Slytherin friends', but I know it should probably come from Diagon. Think they might have an allergic reaction to anything muggle honestly." He snipped, but out of fondness which Remus seemed to pick up on so he let the… distinct preferences known about the pureblood house slide.
"We'll have to brainstorm a bit then."
"I wonder if I could get a haircut too," Harry realized, not used to having this much freedom since Moony seemed to be ready to just let him do what he wanted with this break. Normally he was under a time crunch when shopping—and he didn't count this past summer as that still felt restrictive given he could only really go out when he mustered the energy or motivation to do so which was not really a guarantee for him at the time. "It might be nice to get more than one a year honestly… and I'm actually taller for once so I could get some real winter muggle clothes so I don't have to keep transfiguring my current stuff! Also new cleats for the football club, for me first but since I actually want to get some gear as presents too that'll be another stop— but I'm not sure I can find the jersey I want to get Dean at the store I'm thinking of," He rambled a bit as he plotted their path.
"I think I underestimated just how much shopping this would entail." Moony said it as a joke but Harry could tell he was slightly nervous of the wild look in the eyes of the child before him too.
Harry could help but snicker and tease.
"Scared?"
"Perhaps slightly. I can't say I've ever spent much time in clothing stores." He confessed.
Harry abandoned looking at his list to whip up and give the werewolf a look, pointedly glancing down at the jacket he was wearing and Remus instantly gripped flaps tightly.
"I like this jacket Harry," He warned, clearly seeing where he was going with that evil glint in his eye.
"I did mention my hobby for Transfiguration though—it could be that jacket, but I could spruce it up a bit," He offered just oh so innocently—so innocently in fact that Moony immediately retreated to the other side of the kitchen in mock fear, wagging finger at him.
"Please don't. No magic, remember?"
"Hm," He was only half convinced… but he was not that much of an asshole so he wouldn't ruin his cloths since he asked so nicely…
But would absolutely go get him more, so he mentally tacked some other shops onto their list of stops to make.
"I'm making some tea, would you like some?" Remus interrupted his plotting, whether on purpose or not Harry accepted the distraction in interest.
"Sure!"
"Anything specific?"
"Not really, I like the basic stuff Hogwarts has. Pretty sure it's normal black tea, or sometimes Chamomile."
"I can do that," He allowed, turning and tapping his wand to a kettle on the stove, the sound of it filling with water accompanying the click of the gas igniting.
Harry had noticed the long line of jars around the small kitchen counter space, and as he came over to inspect he noticed more than half were full of tea leaves. It was clearly something Remus enjoyed, and since the topics of presents was still floating around he made a note that would be a good gift. And actually, he fully just shadowed the man into the kitchen area and slyly snooped through the jars, opening some to take a curious sniff of what kind of teas there were, and was pleasantly surprised to find things he didn't even recognize.
As Moony went about setting two cups with very practiced motions beside him, Harry only half noticed the man shooting him amused looks as he poked around.
He blinked then, as the werewolf silently slid one of the jars in front of his eyes and he took the hint to crack the lid and smell it, looking up at him in confusion.
"Lavender?"
"Earl grey lavender. It's one of my favorites, if you wanted to try."
"Yes please!" He perked up, kind of interested in all the flavors when he'd never really given much more thought to tea than… well, that it was tea. Clearly there was a world out there he unaware of, but it sounded like a tasty one. "You never mentioned you were a tea person. A chocolate person for sure, but good to know you like tea too." To be fair everyone in this country seemed to like tea, but the sheer variety Remus had seemed to make it more a hobby than a snack.
"Nothing quite beats a cup of tea on a cold day… and there are a lot of cold days in this country."
Harry laughed. "It doesn't rain as much at Hogwarts I noticed, but I always assumed that was magic."
"Hm… not sure if I ever noticed that but I wouldn't be shocked if that were part of its enchantments. Why that couldn't have applied to certain quidditch game days, I'm not sure."
"I've not yet had to play a game in the rain yet—Wood makes us practice in it for sure but not a real game so far."
"You're lucky then. I was only ever a bystander and it was miserable," He was pouring boiling water into two cups now carefully, and Harry was practically under his elbow as he did so in interest at the delicious scent the freshly brewing flowers and leavers were giving off—and even more fun was that the water was a much prettier purplish color than the normal breakfast tea Hogwarts had. "As you know your father wore glasses and almost flew into the rings a dozen times because he couldn't see with the rain. Actually, if memory serves I'm pretty sure a Hufflepuff completely slipped off their broom once, though luckily close to the ground."
"Oof… as if quidditch weren't dangerous enough. I got hit by a bludger and broke my arm this year, that sucked—still one of my best games ever though." He remembered, actually almost having forgot about that even with it only being a couple months ago now. Too many things had happened honestly.
"I remember you mentioning the arm, not the game though. What made it so good?"
Again like a bullet train Harry went off rambling, following Moony as he set the tea down on the kitchen table and Harry immediately resumed the position they'd had in the café in the chair adjacent to him, both curling up over their cups to whittle down the rest of the day lost in conversation.
000
"A friend gave this one to me, many years ago." Remus held up a book from where he knelt in front of the fireplace/bookshelf. "And I still have all my old textbooks of course, but I can't imagine they're better than what you currently have. Minerva is very good about keeping up to date on developments on the topic so your current texts are probably the best you'll get. I don't really have any other references though."
They were yet again on the topic of Transfiguration, but as Harry lifted his hands and made a grabby motion for the book, Moony just rolled his eyes and put it back on the shelf pointedly.
"Weren't you going to bed? You can take whatever you want from the shelves—tomorrow and not when you should be sleeping. I thought people joked about you being in Slytherin, not Ravenclaw?" He teased and Harry just grunted as he shoved himself deeper into the couch which was acting as his bed for the duration of this holiday.
"It's barely homework, it's mostly a hobby at this point. It'd be great nighttime reading!"
"How about something a little simpler? I bet you haven't heard any of the wizarding tales, how about one of those?"
"Aren't they for little kids?" Harry was doubtful, but the werewolf just shook his head.
"That doesn't change the fact they're good, now does it? They don't all need to be Alice in Wonderland, they can be simple too—sometimes the simplicity is nice before bed."
"I've never read Alice in Wonderland either, that's a muggle story right? Wait— isn't it supposed to be whacky? DID a wizard write it under a muggle name or something?"
Moony blinked, seeming to have been caught off guard. "…huh. I have no idea." He seemed to decide and leaned over from where he was cross legged on the carpet to grab a book from a different shelf. "What I do know is that it's a classic so we're starting with that one."
"Don't I get a say since it's my story?"
"Since you'd have me reading a Transfiguration textbook if you had your way then no, no you don't."
Harry's noises of dramatic complaint were ignored—it'd only been one day but Remus seemed 100% immune to his antics already and just happily leafed open the book as he settled in, implying the child in front of him should as well.
It was probably because Harry couldn't actually complain too hard so most of his griping wasn't genuine. This was all… nice.
He'd worn a hole in their dorm room carpet worrying about what it'd be like to be 'home' for a holiday but after getting over the nerves of actually getting here, he found it taken almost no time at all to get used to this. Literally even, as it hadn't been a full day yet but he already knew leaving at the end of the break would break something inside of him too.
Moony was just like Harry had imagined him being from his letters, once the nerves and paranoia of having someone visit him had passed. He toed the line of being an 'adult' and friend like a certified pro, goofing off and loving to hear about his antics and quidditch games, while also having an adult's worried exasperation over some things—not judgement or scolding, just this little sigh expressing that he wished Harry be more careful sometimes. Draco did it too so Harry didn't even blink twice at gleefully ignoring.
They'd made dinner together, which was instantly one of Harry most favorite things to do now. Despite having lived longer, Remus in fact did not have more experience than him in the kitchen so they were actually both experts at the craft. And Harry's most favorite habit of the werewolf's was that Remus never assumed Harry knew less just because he was twelve, so when he said he was going to make dinner he willingly opened up his kitchen when Harry butted right in to help (ahem, take over) and the two of them made a very efficient, successful team.
He'd almost forgotten but he actually did like to cook a lot. Just… not for the Dursleys—not as a chore, or a punishment, or a necessity to keep him from being locked in a cabinet, whatever it used to mean. The actual act of cooking was enjoyable, and when it was with someone who was a great cook himself it was actually super fun. The fact he could cook and then not only eat it himself, but feed it to someone else who actually complimented his work and told him it was delicious had him literally in the clouds with a big goofy grin on his face all the while they did dishes together afterwards.
It was already dark by then so most other plans were halted, but it'd been a long day and if Harry's plans were anything to go by then it'd be a busy week leading up to Christmas as well. One thing Moony was actively trying to instill into him was that there was no need to rush—they didn't have to immediately go sprint to every shop he wanted to stop at all tomorrow, they could split it up over the next couple days. They didn't have to have every conversation they wanted to get to right now—they could talk about nothing but children's stories and what they'd have for breakfast tomorrow for now, and plan a little more come morning light. They didn't have to get so worked up over the prospect of a break they didn't get enough sleep to actually enjoy the rest of it.
Harry thought himself pretty clever but Moony was damn diabolical so somehow he'd found himself in his sleep clothes, tucked into the pillows and blankets making the couch his new bed, despite the fact it still felt too early to actually go to sleep. Remus was just too persuasive—ex-Marauder indeed because Harry was surprised at how many bickering sessions he found himself losing somehow. He barely even noticed actually until it hit him he was settled into bed at barely nine at night on his first day of break, and that was certainly not a choice he'd made.
The petty part of him intended to make the werewolf read the entire book he was holding since he'd insisted on this after all, and they'd be here all night anyway.
"Does the village have a library?" He wondered aloud before Remus could get started, derailing him some.
"I believe so, yes."
"You said we'd walk down tomorrow, let's stop there too. I want to find a book on that thing you said—Algeria or something. We can get kiddie stories too I guess," He rolled his eyes.
"Algebra," Remus snorted, amused. "And of course, whatever you want so long as you can return them before break is over. Otherwise you'll need to mail them back to me for me to return."
"Right," he agreed, although internally he just wanted to check out if the topic really was all Remus implied it was before he'd probably just buy some books on the topic later anyway. They'd touched on Harry's draft paper again and Remus implied he'd already touched on the fundamentals of Algebra with his Transfiguration work so he wondered if that was another topic that might interest him while he was running out of Transfiguration work his-level to occupy him.
The fact it was a muggle topic meant McGonagall couldn't be mad about him reading ahead in it since it posed no risk to his magical core, which was a bonus.
"How much do you know about muggle subjects? You said you were a tutor once?"
"Some," The werewolf admitted, lowering the book in his hand some. "I always had interest so I read some things during my time at Hogwarts, but when I graduated there was a time I took it more seriously as a job. I only ever taught younger muggle children though, so my knowledge base isn't that comprehensive."
"What made you stop?"
"Ah… my condition made me rather unreliable, I'm afraid. Parents were not that thrilled that I wasn't able to support for significant durations every month when children that age need a consistent hand to actually learn. I did agree so I stopped after a time."
"Would you mind helping me?" He'd asked before on other ways but… in person like this, when he'd already gotten comfortable asking whatever and knowing Remus never held it against him… he though he had a better shot. Knowing he was still probably overstepping he backpedaled some but still held out hope. "Only if you have the time of course! I just… I had half a mind to take my A-levels too, so I'd have both a muggle and a magical education. The options were good." He admitted awkwardly.
Moony gave a genuine, is slightly sad smile.
"Of course, I'd be happy to. What were you thinking? Any particular topics of interest?"
"I don't know honestly; the only one off the top of my head is that Hogwarts doesn't teach maths but I thought it's treated very importantly in the muggle world, so I was worried I was missing something."
"Next year you'll have the opportunity to take Arithmancy, which I recommend, but you're right… muggle maths is a whole other beast. I don't think you'll need the higher-level stuff for day-to-day life, but if your goal is to take an A-level someday I can help with what I can."
Harry beamed, sitting up straighter in his blankets to make sure he saw it.
"Please and thank you! That's exciting, then I could do things in either the magical or muggle world!"
"That's true… having options is important."
The man seemed a little distracted as he said it, though it wasn't hard to see why. He'd already confessed Harry's future and ambitions to be his first priority, over him and over anything else. Before it was to justify all the secrecy, and he meant to express that by what he didn't do or say… to express his support by doing something like teaching again was a shift in mindset.
Harry couldn't quite get a read on him to tell if he genuinely didn't mind it or not, but he could tell he wasn't going to deny the request either. True to his suspicion, when asked in person Remus seemed to have a lot less will power to saying no about serious topics like this. About bedtime he'd 100% shut him down, but when asking for help he seemed unable to actually deny him… which, good or bad, Harry was fully going to make use of.
Particularly about this, because the thing was, options were good. The wizarding world sucked ass for things like nepotism and classism—don't even get him started on racism, or speciesism, or whatever it was you called the messed-up situation with werewolves… and it wasn't like the muggle world didn't have those things but the more options you had to escape a situation the better.
Besides, it wasn't just thoughts inside his head anymore, he'd told the twins he intended to become Minister one day—for Remus. Now that he was actually here with his not-godfather, the feeling just… seemed so much stronger all of a sudden. Less something 'make it up' to him and something he needed to do because Moony was…
Moony didn't deserve this shack and to be afraid to teach when it was clear he really liked it. When it was clear he'd be one of the best teachers on the world if he were just able to help people as freely as he clearly wanted to.
No, if he was going to become Minister then he'd need one foot in both worlds and all the advantages he could. He'd be as blind as some of the snottier Slytherins out there if he discounted the muggle world as unimportant or 'not as good' as the magical one. He needed every option available to him, and maybe taking A-levels wouldn't amount to anything really but it would never be a bad thing to have the option. Besides, he was learning to make plans in the magical world, but he was learning those skills from snakes. Everyone else was one thing, but if he was ever going to beat them at their own game, the game they themselves were teaching him, then he needed things they would never see coming or imagined could be possible. And the only thing they openly turned their noses up at (and also therefore a blind eye to as a side effect) was everything muggle. It was essentially him learning an entirely additional education that they didn't have and any extra cards he had up his sleeve the better.
Hopefully one would come in handy one day.
Luckily, Remus was unaware of how existential his thoughts were around innocently asking about the library tomorrow, and just made a small clicking noise with his tongue.
"That's all for the morning then, listen up. You asked me to teach, right?"
"Yeah, maths."
"Too bad, you're getting literature right now and you can't be ignorant of the classics. In either world." He sniffed jokingly and lifted the book pointedly in the politest 'shut up' Harry had ever gotten.
He just snickered to himself and plopped back against his pillows and let the werewolf get started, humoring his attempt at a 'bedtime story' and still thinking this was a strange choice of activities when they could just continue talking or even play a game or something.
And yet, despite his dismissal of how childish it all was and his petty determination to make the man read the whole little book right here and now in protest… he was out like a light before Alice even had her first bite of cake.