"Both of you?"
"No."
He glares across the table at Sirius, daring him to say something, but he just keeps staring at his plate, barely touching his food.
"Don't you think—"
"Mum," he cuts her off, "leave it."
He meets her gaze, her stare not nearly as lighthearted and carefree as her tone would suggest. After a few moments of intense eye contact she sighs. "When will you be back?"
James shrugs, barely tasting the food he's eating, just desperate to finish and get away from this table and out of this house. He's spent nearly every day this summer at Remus's, which James knows Remus hates but there's nothing to be done for it. They can't hang out at Pete's—his mother is really weird about having people in her house, as in, she hates it and they're not allowed. And they can't come here for obvious reasons, so the Lupin's is their only option.
James actually quite likes Remus's house—a small farm in the Welsh countryside. James has always thought it a crime that Remus hasn't got an accent but he claims he doesn't actually speak to any Welsh people, and since neither of his parents are from there originally he's never picked it up.
James wipes his mouth on the back of his hand before standing and dumping his plate in the sink.
"Merlin James, where's the fire?" his mum laughs.
"Gotta catch the Portkey," he says blandly, kissing her quickly on the cheek and not sparing Sirius a single glance.
He slips on his trainers at the front door before pushing outside, not even bothering to do up his laces. Instantly he feels lighter, even as the early August heat sticks to his skin. Lately that house is full of all the things he can't fix—promises he hasn't kept. He told Remus it wouldn't always be like this and he meant it. He just hasn't quite figured out how yet.
There are a couple Portkeys set up in the area, leaving at designated times throughout the day. It's not a terrible way to travel but it's also not the most convenient. The Portkey only gets him to Wales and then he has to take a muggle bus to Remus's. He's become quite familiar with muggle transportation this summer. Far more familiar than he ever wanted to be, if he's being honest. Not that he'd never used it before of course, his mum used to take him into London when he was little, before Hogwarts. Day trips to the museums and parks and things, so he'd ridden the tube a few times. But public transport in a major city and public transport in the middle-of-nowhere-Wales, are two very different experiences, James has come to learn.
The bus takes ages, of course, and then there's still another twenty minute walk from the road to Remus's front door. By the time he gets there James is drenched in sweat and the day is half-gone.
"Oh, hello James," Hope opens the door for him. "You look knackered, come in, come in," she waves him inside. "Can I get you anything? Lemonade?"
"Yes, please, that would be brilliant," he tries not to sound too desperate, but she smiles at him like she knows.
"Where's Remus?" he asks, following her into the kitchen. James is completely obsessed with the Lupin's kitchen. It's full of muggle appliances he's never seen before. Like a fridge—which apparently keeps things cold no matter what the temperature is outside?! James has asked Remus multiple times but he swears it isn't magic. There's also a microwave that instantly heats up your food—also, allegedly, not magic—and an iron that makes waffles. Brilliant, James thinks, all of it.
"Remus is out back," Hope smiles as she hands him a cold glass of lemonade that he proceeds to gulp down likes he's just spent a week in the desert. Hope arches her brow, smiling in a way that looks so much like Remus it's almost scary.
Chapter Seventeen
Start from the beginning
