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The last thing Remus expected when being called to Severus' office was to see not only Harry but Milo as well standing with bewildered expressions as he clambered through the fireplace after being summoned. Harry looked mortified but when Remus' green gaze flickered over towards Milo, his godson flashed him a cheeky grin that was already begging for forgiveness. He wasn't sure what they had done, but it was pretty clear that it was up to him to get them out of it. With a heavy sigh, the man brushed off his shabby robes and turned to face the ever-irritating Severus, who still appeared livid from whatever happened prior to his arrival.
"You called, Severus?" He asked tearing his gaze away from Milo, who finally looked down.
"I certainly did," Severus began, making his way over to his desk, his robes fluttering behind him as if he had a dementor attached to his back, flowing behind him. "I have just asked Potter-
"Which one?" Remus couldn't help himself to poke just a bit of fun, earning a snort from Milo, however, Severus looked on the verge of exploding. "After all, there are two of them."
Severus glanced in the direction of Harry and Milo, much to his annoyance, it was Milo who offered a small way to remind him that he was still standing there behind his brother. The man's teeth gritted together, his jaw clenched tight which made his face seem even paler if that were possible.
"The little one, "he growled," as I was saying, I asked Potter to empty his pockets. He was carrying this."
As Severus pointed to the parchment paper, Remus peered closely and his heart skipped a beat while his expression remained calm. For the sake of the boys, he didn't dare look up at either one of them, but to read his nickname along with the nickname of his former and late brothers, it pulled at his heartstrings, causing his chest to ache. The fact that Severus had even so much as touched the map, brought a sense of disgust to Remus, but he kept his composure before his thoughts were interrupted by the other man again.
"Well?"
Harry stole an anxious look in his brother's direction, however, Milo's gaze was solely focused on the map as well. Since the boy was completely unaware that it had been in Milo's possession, told to be given to him by the twins, Harry had to wonder why Milo seemed attached to it as well.
"This parchment is plainly full of Dark Magic," Severus was growing impatient by the lack of response by his colleague. " This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Lupin. Where do you imagine Potter got such a thing?"
Finally, Remus gathered himself, clearing his throat and shot a warning look in the direction of the two boys. It was a look that clearly said "shut-up-and-let-me-handle-this." Neither Harry or Milo protested against that as they remained completely silent, looking back and forth between the two men.
"Full of Dark Magic?"Remus answered with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Do you really think so, Severus? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment that insults anybody who reads it. Childish, but surely not dangerous? I imagine Harry got it from a joke shop—"
"Indeed?" Severus looked so pissed off in that moment that Milo wondered if it was the moment where he was truly going to see Snape snap. "You think a joke shop could supply him with such a thing? You don't think it more likely that he got it directly from the manufacturers?"
Milo knew he had to keep himself composed because any sign of faltering on his behalf was going to give them away instantly. He would be damned if anything happened to the map.
"You mean, by Mr. Wormtail or one of these people?" Perhaps Milo was reading way into things way too much, but he wondered as to why Remus had chosen to address Peter's nickname first rather than the others. "Harry, do you know any of these men?"
"No," Harry's answer was automatic before Remus turned to Milo.
"Do you know any of these men, Milo?"
"No, Sir," Milo shook his head. "I don't think I would associate myself with men who called themselves something along the lines of Moony and Padfoot, sounds odd doesn't it?"
The taunting jab at the nicknames, almost cost Remus a smile but he quickly turned away from Milo and back to Severus. " You see, Severus? It looks like a Zonko product to me—"
As if the Gods had timed it perfectly, Ron came bursting into the office, looking flustered and completely winded as he came to Harry's defence. Although he did seem surprised by the gathering of Professor Lupin and Milo.
"I—gave—Harry—that—stuff," The boy panted, "Bought—it... in Zonko's... ages—ago..."
"Well!" That seemed to be more than enough for Remus to make the case and close it right then and there. "That seems to clear that up! Severus, I'll take this back, shall I?"
He gathered up the map and shoved it into his robes, and once more the map was safe, causing Milo to sigh in relief.
"Milo, Harry, Ron, come with me, I need a word about my vampire essay and Milo, I have a request for you—excuse us, Severus—"
None of the boys said a word until they were a distance away from the professor's office, but it was Harry who spoke first while Milo was still trying to figure out an apology of some sort.
"Professor, I—"
"I don't want to hear explanations," Remus said, glancing back and forth between Milo and Harry, "I happen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr. Filch many years ago. Yes, I know it's a map.I don't want to know how it fell into your possession."
The quick glance in Milo's direction caused the boy to swallow hard with guilt, before he looked down at his shoes.
"I am, however, astounded that you didn't hand it in. Particularly after what happened the last time a student left information about the castle lying around. And I can't let you have it back, Harry."
"Why did Snape think I'd got it from the manufacturers?"
"Because...because these mapmakers would have wanted to lure you out of school. They'd think it extremely entertaining."
"Do you know them?"
Was Remus going to tell Harry the truth? Milo waited for a split second but it didn't seem so as Remus spoke again.
"We've met," he answered, " Don't expect me to cover up for you again, Harry. I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that what you have heard when the dementors draw near you would have had more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their lives to keep you boys alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them—gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks."
Remus turned to leave and just as Milo exchanged glances with Harry and Ron, the man called for Milo to follow him, he wanted to have a word in his office. Harry looked extremely worried, wondering if had gotten his brother into trouble, but Milo reassured him it was going to be fine before he hurried after Remus to follow.
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The entire walk back to Remus' office, the man didn't say a word to Milo, making him feel even worse. He knew that his godfather was upset, but it wasn't like Milo had ever planned the map to ever fall in the hands of Professor Snape, that would be the last thing he ever wanted. Especially after how Snape had spoken ill about his father. At first, he felt guilty about calling the professor such a name, but looking back on it, he didn't hold any sort of regret. Professor Snape had long taunted him ever since he heard the name Potter. It didn't matter that Milo hardly knew his father before that time, the man was taking some stupid school grudge against him.
As they walked inside the office, Remus closed the door behind Milo and it all began to unfold. "Just what were you thinking when you decided to give Harry the map?" Remus questioned him, leaving Milo to flinch at the tone.
"I-"
"I'll answer it for you, you weren't thinking, Milo," Remus shook his head, pulling out the map. "Because if you were, this wouldn't have happened."
"Look, I don't know what happened that caused Snape to go after Harry, but it wasn't an issue before-"
"Wasn't an issue? Milo, right now your brother is in danger, there is a possibility of Sirius Black-"
Remus suddenly stopped as Milo rolled his eyes and looked away. It wasn't like Milo to be openly disrespectful, but in that moment, he saw plenty of James shining through whenever the man had gotten into trouble when they were boys.
"Do you have something to say, Milo?"
"Are you going to let me finish?" Milo countered in return. "I didn't put my brother into danger. I gave him the map so he could get around without anyone bothering him, including dementors or as everyone else around here screams, Sirius Black. He was doing just fine with it anyways, besides it wasn't going to be a permanent thing. Just until all this nonsense was over, that's all."
It was quiet for a few moments before Milo let out a sigh and shook his head. "I also thought it would be nice to let him have it for a bit because it's part of him too. Harry doesn't know about Prongs or the Stagqueen, he doesn't know about Moony, Wormtail, and Padfoot, but at least, in a way, our dad was assisting him without him even knowing it."
The boy plopped down into an empty seat, not daring to look in the direction of his godfather as he crossed his arms over his chest and remained silent. Remus made a face, not expecting the tables to be turned on him so abruptly. The problem was, while it had been a foolish gesture on Milo's behalf, the boy had done it with all good intentions. He wanted Harry to enjoy the school year without having to constantly look over his shoulder because of all the drama that seemed to follow the Potter name.
It actually hadn't been Remus' intentions to bring Milo back to scold him as he had been given information to pass along to him, but now he wasn't so sure if he wanted. But it wasn't a matter of want, it was a matter of need.
"Well, I suppose it was punishment enough just being around Severus for that amount of time," Remus said in a quiet tone as he pulled up a seat and sat across from Milo. The boy glanced up, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Consider it a form of torture," Milo replied and while he was finally smiling, Remus frowned. "What's wrong, Uncle Remus? Am I still in trouble?"
"No, Milo, you're not in trouble, but I'm afraid someone else is."
Confusion swept across his face and he wasn't sure what Remus meant by that. His mind went to Harry and Cedric, hoping it certainly wasn't one of them. It went through all the people he cared about.
"Is it you?" He whispered.
"No, Milo," the man shook his head before exhaling loudly. "I'm afraid the faculty was given word about Buckbeak's trial in London."
"Oh no." Trouble and trial did not mesh well together in the boy's mind as he closed his eyes, pretending he never heard what Remus said next.
"They've set an execution date, Milo, I'm so sorry."