Four To The End (prev Shifting Lines) Book Three (Marauders Era)

On the morning of the thirteenth, Remus heard back from his mother. When the school owl swooped in and dropped the letter in his lap and he saw her handwriting, his heart jumped into his throat. He wasn't sure what she would say. How she'd react to his... request. He left the Great Hall and went into a lavatory to be alone, sitting on a toilet as he ripped the envelope open.

In his letter he had said there might be some events away from school, and also said Miss Fawley wanted to take him somewhere. He added that with this permission slip signed he could also maybe come visit some Saturday, if Miss Fawley was able to help him with that. He emphasized this more than once, trying to make it seem like visiting his mother was the most important thing.

Taking in a deep breath, he read the reply before looking at the permission slip. It was damp with tears, and he wasn't at all surprised his mother had readily agreed. She went on and on about how much she missed him and how much she wanted him to visit home and was he coming home for Easter? Please come home for the holidays, she wrote. Whether you come visit on a weekend before or not. I miss you.

He put the letter away and looked at the slip. His mother's signature was signed neatly at the bottom, giving Remus permission to leave Hogwarts on a Saturday and/or Sunday with another guardian.

He wondered if his father knew. If she had talked to him, asked his opinion on the matter. If Remus (and Miss Fawley) did visit one Saturday and Lyall came home to them without any prior notice, what would he do?

Sighing, he put the slip carefully in his pocket to give to McGonagall later that day, and returned to his friends to tell them the good news. All three whooped, and James hugged him tightly. Remus hugged back, a little nauseated at how he got the permission. A little... unhappy about the idea of having to go home some weekend day, even if just for a few hours. Bad, he chided himself, turning back to his food. He should be happy at the idea of seeing his mother. But even the mere thought made him feel suffocated. He was uncomfortable for the rest of the day, miserable whenever he thought about it; feeling guilty for feeling suffocated.

They lied to you, his brain reminded him.

Mum meant for the best, he replied.

He was so distracted with this that he didn't realize what was going on until after he came back from the library, where he had been working with Jha and Maji. The entire common room was talking loudly about something, and there were more than a few giggles. The atmosphere seemed odd. Less than a minute later he heard another student mention Kaeso, which reminded him the group had released a new song that day. That explained the excited chattering though not the weird feeling in the air... unless it had been a bad song?

James was still at practice, Sirius was in detention, and Peter hadn't returned from his Photography Club meeting yet, so Remus sort of stood there for a moment before going over to Longbottom, Weasley, and O'Kelley; the latter two were playing chess while Longbottom flipped through a magazine.

"Heya," Weasley said, glancing up to smile at Remus. "Have a seat. Been meaning to talk to you—well, ask you something. Well. Sort've." He ran his fingers through the curly mop on the top of his head and leaned back in his seat. "About the other day, I hope I didn't cause any problems. With Black, I mean."

"Huh? Oh, oh no. You didn't." Remus sat down, eyes on the board as O'Kelley pondered his next move. "I appreciate the rescue. It w-wasn't anything bad, though. I was just dizzy," he repeated the lie he had told the others.

"Glad I didn't make a right cock up of things. I do that sometimes. I see a damsel in distress and need to help."

Remus stiffened, fear striking inside of him despite Weasley's casual tone. "Damsel?"