Hurt | Remus Lupin

~51~ Harry in the fireplace

"Yeah," said Harry, "but he just attacked Snape for no good reason, just because — well, just because you said you were bored," he finished with a slightly apologetic note in his voice.

"I'm not proud of it," said Sirius quickly.

Remus sighed. "Look, Harry, what you've got to understand is that your father and Sirius were the best in the school at whatever they did — everyone thought they were the height of cool — if they sometimes got a bit carried away —"

"If we were sometimes arrogant little berks, you mean," said Sirius

"He kept messing up his hair," said Harry in a pained voice.

Remus and Sirius laughed.

"I'd forgotten he used to do that," said Sirius affectionately.

"Was he playing with the Snitch?" asked Remus.

"Yeah," said Harry, watching uncomprehendingly as Remus and Sirius beamed reminiscently. "Well . . . I thought he was a bit of an idiot."

"Of course he was a bit of an idiot!" said Sirius bracingly. "We we really idiots! Well — not Moony so much," he said fairly, looking at Remus, but Remus shook his head.

"Did I ever tell you to lay off Snape?" he said. "Did I ever have the guts to tell you I thought you were out of order?"

"Yeah, well," said Sirius, "you made us feel ashamed of ourselves sometimes. . . . That was something. . . ."

"And," said Harry doggedly. "he kept looking over at the girls by the lake, hoping they were watching him!"

"Oh, well, he always made a fool of himself whenever Lily was around," said Sirius, shrugging. "He couldn't stop himself showing off whenever he got near her."

"How come she married him?" Harry asked miserably. "She hated him!"

"Nah, she didn't," said Sirius.

"She started going out with him in seventh year," said Lupin.

"Once James had deflated his head a bit," said Sirius. "And stopped hexing people just for the fun of it," said Lupin.

"Even Snape?" said Harry.

"Well," said Lupin slowly, "Snape was a special case. I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James, so you couldn't really expect James to take that lying down, could you?"

"And my mum was okay with that?"

"She didn't know too much about it, to tell you the truth," said Sirius. "I mean, James didn't take Snape on dates with her and jinx him in front of her, did he?" Sirius frowned at Harry, who was still looking unconvinced. "Look," he said, "your father was the best friend I ever had, and he was a good person. A lot of people are idiots at the age of fifteen. He grew out of it."

"Yeah, okay," said Harry heavily. "I just never thought I'd feel sorry for Snape."

"Now you mention it," said Lupin, a faint crease between his eyebrows, "how did Snape react when he found you'd seen all this?"

"He told me he'd never teach me Occlumency again," said Harry indifferently, "like that's a big disappoint —"

"He WHAT?" shouted Sirius, causing Harry to jump and inhale a mouthful of ashes.

"Are you serious, Harry?" said Lupin quickly. "He's stopped giving you lessons?"

"Yeah," said Harry, surprised.  "But it's okay, I don't care, it's a bit of a relief to tell you the —"

"No you idiot! You need those lessons!" I cried, now butting into the conversation.

"I'm coming up there to have a word with Snape!" said Sirius forcefully and he actually made to stand up, but Lupin wrenched him backdown again.

"You're an idiot too Sirius!" I hissed.

"If anyone's going to tell Snape it will be me!" he said firmly. "But Harry, first of all, you're to go back to Snape and tell him that on no account is he to stop giving you lessons — when Dumbledore hears —"

"I can't tell him that, he'd kill me!" said Harry, outraged. "You didn't see him when we got out of the Pensieve —"

"Harry, there is nothing so important as you learning Occlumency!" said Lupin sternly. "Do you understand me? Nothing!"

"Okay, okay," said Harry, thoroughly discomposed, not to mention annoyed. "I'll . . . I'll try and say something to him. . . . But it won't be . . ."

Harry fell silent. "Is that Kreacher coming down the stairs?"

I looked around. "No. Might be someone from your end."

"I'd better go!" he said hastily and he pulled his head backward out of Grimmauld Place's fire.

"Shit, I hope he doesn't get caught." I muttered.

"He better now. After all that with the Hearing, and now getting expelled?"

"Anyways, er, what was all that about?" I asked.

Remus and Sirius sighed.

"Look, we weren't the best teenagers, alright? In fact, we were assholes. But Harry's dad was a good man. A really great man. Why else did Harry's mother marry him?" Sirius smiled faintly.

"Yeah, I mean, all teenagers are idiots aren't they." I mumbled.

"You can't tell me you guys didn't do that too." Remus asked. "I am know starting to realize I know nothing about your school days before I arrived."

"I don't know anything about yours either." I shot back with a grin.

And so, with cups of hot chocolate between the three of us, we were curled in the living room, retelling stories from our school days.

"Well, I sort of revealed how Ollie had that racy magazine of his right?" I asked.

They both nodded.

"I er, I had a muggle book that was..... suffice to say.... extremely hot and heavy." I blushed. "I was like, fifteen, and I had bewitched it to look like my Transfiguration homework. And one time I was asking McGonagall for help with my homework, and she told me to pull out my book. I accidentally pulled out the muggle book, instead of the actual book, and it just so happened to flip to a really, er, racy section, and McGonagall noticed. She asked if she could borrow the book the next day."

Sirius howled with laughter while Remus' face turned red.

"SHE READ IT?" Sirius cried.

I nodded. "She read it in a week. Then she told me she enjoyed it and if I had anymore I should let her borrow them. Don't tell er I told you, she will murder me."

Sirius doubled over with laughter and I couldn't help but laugh at the memory.

"That was the day I became closer with her." I took a sip of my hot chocolate.

"Merlin." Sirius wiped his eyes. "You know, I remember, there was a girl I was obsessed with in school. She wasn't the biggest fan of me. I scared her I think She probably thought I was... a fuck boy you could say. anyways, I asked her out on a date to Hogsmeade. She said yes, dunno why, and when I tried to kiss her, she fired off a jinx at me. I grew an extra eye. Couldn't see out of it, but it was there."

Remus laughed. "I saw that happen. I was strolling around with James and Lily, and then we saw you walking back to us with an extra eye on your head."

"All you three did was laugh at me." Sirius shook his head.

Remus chuckled at that. "It was very funny."

We spent the entire night reliving our fondest days.