I have no excuses.

Disclaimer: The usual.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 22

Sherlock followed him home to his new flat, but Remus was fuming and ignored most of what he was saying. He threw his coat at the rack, stormed into his bedroom, and fell into the bed, the door swinging closed loudly behind him.

Harry whispered, "Sherlock?"

ooo

Sherlock frowned at the closed bedroom door, confused by Remus' reaction, but he turned to face Harry when he heard the boy's whisper. "Ah, Harrison."

"Your nose…"

Sherlock pulled a handkerchief from his coat pocket and brought it up to his nose, mopping up a bit of the still gently dripping blood.

"What took you so long?"

ooo

Sherlock only stayed with them one day before getting the flat at Baker Street back, but it took Harry over a month of pleading to convince Remus to even consider moving back in with Sherlock, and then it was only because he got back from spending his first long weekend with Jeremy to find drugs hidden away in the back of one of Sherlock's cupboards. He'd been leaving Harry with a man who was back on drugs.

The move was quick then, once the entire flat had been searched by him, Lestrade, and Mycroft, and Harry couldn't have been happier. Remus was furious and disappointed and more than a little apprehensive.

ooo

"It's like I never see you anymore, John."

"I know," John groaned, picking at his chicken. "But Sherlock's been having a lot of danger nights recently and I can't leave him alone with Harry and the move and work and now he's starting cases again!"

"John."

Remus sighed and planted an elbow firmly on the table, resting his cheek on his fist as he looked up at his boyfriend.

"What did you even move back in with him for?"

"He's my friend."

"I know that, but you have a kid? Why are you living with a drug addict who left you hanging for two years when you have a kid?"

"I…"

"John, I don't want to lose this, but you've gotta figure some stuff out."

"I… are you breaking up with me?"

"No! No, John, I'm not, no! I just… I think I might need to back off a little while you figure stuff out. I'll see you at work. But no dates for two weeks, yeah?"

Remus just stared, his mouth hanging slightly open.

Jeremy laughed and leaned across the table to plant a quick kiss on Remus' lips. "I just don't want to get in the middle of the drama of Sherlock Holmes. I don't want to be a part of it. But I'm here for you and I'm not leaving you. Just a couple weeks, yeah?"

Remus nodded and took a bite of something, chewing slowly.

They parted ways without more than a kiss that night.

ooo

It was a Saturday morning. John had just left the flat and Sherlock was staring thoughtfully at the closed door. Harry was sitting in Remus' chair doing homework. "Make a move."

Sherlock swiveled his head to look at the kid.

Harry sighed. "I'm not an idiot, you know. It's pretty obvious that you like him as more than just a friend."

Sherlock narrowed his eyes.

"Look, if you wanna do something about it, you're just gonna have to do something about it, is all I'm saying. It's not that he's not interested in you—he just doesn't know how to deal with emotions. And Jeremy practically dumped him a week ago anyways."

"I'm not-"

"I'm not saying that he fancies you, but he did get more upset than any of those grieving sites said you're supposed to when you left. So he fancies you. Just, if you want to do something, do it before he figures out you aren't going to and gives up and moves us away again. Just kiss him at the end of a case or something."

Sherlock huffed and fell back into the chair again, staring at the ceiling. Harry rolled his eyes and went back to his math problems.

ooo

Just kiss him at the end of a case. He'd just cracked it, John was grinning, talking to Lestrade. His own pleased smile faded as he watched them.

When they got into a cab, Harry's words came back to him and Sherlock leaned across and pressed their lips together.

Remus didn't move. "John?"

He just kept staring at him and Sherlock was beginning to regret following the advice of a ten year old. "Was that-"

"Fine. That was fine. More than fine." John coughed, and then John was kissing him. Well then, better result than he'd expected.

ooo

Harry broke out in a truly shit-eating grin when they got back, like he knew exactly what had gone down. Sherlock winked at him before putting a hand on Remus' shoulder, making him jump, and moving past him towards his bedroom.

Remus shook his head, looking anxious, then went to his own room. When Harry listened at the door, he heard Remus talking very seriously to someone he assumed was Jeremy. Well that could be bad.

A month later, Sherlock and Remus weren't exactly dating, but they did kiss occasionally. They hugged sometimes. They acted like a married couple, like they always did. Harry was a bit confused, but decided to ignore it as much as he could.

And then the letter came. It was two weeks before his birthday and a very huffy owl swooped in held out its leg with a letter for him to take. His dad and Sherlock had gone to Scotland Yard an hour earlier and he was alone in the flat. He took the letter curiously and then his eyes went wide and a grin spread across his face. He and Luna had talked about Hogwarts plenty and he was so excited. He was going to learn magic!

ooo

"Absolutely not."

Harry wasn't sure now what he'd expected, but that sure as hell hadn't been it. "What!?"

"No. You're not going."

"But Dad-!"

"No. This is not a discussion. You're not going to boarding school."

"But Hermione's going this year! I won't be able to talk to her at all if I don't go!"

Remus gave him an exasperated look. "We own an owl."

"Okay fine, but I won't be able to see her! And how will I learn magic?"

"I'm going to teach you. Harry, Cub, I went to Hogwarts and it was a wonderful thing. But it was also awful. You're still going to have to transform every month and the risk that will come with doing that around so many people—that's a lot of responsibility that you aren't ready to handle. I almost killed someone. I let my friends do highly illegal things in the name of helping me. You'll feel like everyone knows, you'll be worried all the time about what people will think. You know how awful some full moons are? Think about how much worse it would be if there was no one there to help you through it. I don't want to do that to you Harry, so you're not going. Not yet."

Harry looked like he was about to cry. Or throw a tantrum.

"Luna isn't going until next year, so you can still talk to her. And Hogwarts isn't the only school either. So you're going to stay in muggle school and I'll teach you magic on the side. We'll look into other options if it doesn't work out. Okay Cub?"

He nodded angrily and stomped off to his room to write to Luna.

Remus sighed. This was not something he needed right now. He slumped into his chair, tried to ignore Sherlock, who was on the couch ignoring them and probably oblivious to the whole situation, and pulled out his phone to ring Hermione's dad. He needed to warn him about this in case Harry called Hermione.

"Hi, Dan, how's it going?"

"Great! Hermione just new braces and she hates them, so there's that, but overall, everything's fine. What's up?"

"Well Harry just got his Hogwarts acceptance letter."

"Oh, well that's a relief. We knew Harry was going to get in obviously, but without the letter as proof, Hermione's been going crazy about how she might not know anyone there."

"I'm afraid it's not that easy. Harry's not going. I went as a kid and it was really difficult. With all the shit he's already had to go through, I can't send him off to boarding school. Plus, earning a GED without any normal secondary education? It's hard. If he ever wants to live outside of wizarding society, he'll have a rough time of it. I'd rather keep him in muggle classes for a while longer and teach him magic on the side. You don't have to write a bunch of essays to learn the first year material."

"I hadn't even considered continuing with math and English and things. They won't have those classes?"

"Unfortunately no. I'm not going to tell you what's best for Hermione. Hogwarts is a great school—don't get me wrong. And Dumbledore is a great headmaster. He was there when I went. But I just thought I should let you know that Harry might call and complain about it to Hermione, which could lead to some issues on your side."

"Oh, yeah, thanks John. I'll keep that in mind. Appreciate the call."

"Any time."

He hung up and dropped his head into his hands. He wasn't a teacher. Sure it was just first years stuff, but he was gonna have to get books and things and buy Harry a wand… Money was gonna get tight and he might have to pick up more hours at the clinic. Sherlock could teach him potions though. And he could probably help him practice, if he felt the need to be helpful.

Who was he kidding, Sherlock was going to be as much of a problem as Harry.

"I think you're right, John."

He startled, not having realized Sherlock was out of his mind palace. "What?"

"I went to a boarding school. Full of idiots."

Yup, Sherlock was going to be a problem. Somehow. He'd find a way.

ooo

Where is the Boy Who Lived?

The Wizarding World's savior, Harry Potter, did not return to Hogwarts this year as we all assumed he would. For years, we were assured that young Harry was safe and sound and that he would make his return to our world with the beginning of his first year at Hogwarts. When asked for comment, none of the school's staff or the Ministry's legal workers had any information about the whereabouts of Mr. Potter.

Was he rendered powerless by his defeat of You-Know-Who? Is he a squib? Does he even know his heritage? Was he killed, kidnapped… just where is he?

We want our kid back, and anyone with any information is encouraged to come forward.

ooo

That article was in the gossip column of the Daily Prophet and there were plenty more like them. The entire wizarding world was freaking out and Remus was more than a little concerned. He couldn't even think of venturing into Diagon Alley anymore. He had to constantly watch for anyone who might recognize him or Harry. He wrote to Augusta and pleaded with her not to tell anyone.

So far, she hadn't, but who knew how long that would last? Frankly, Remus was scared. And Harry was oblivious, thank Merlin.

He was more than pleased to be learning magic, was actually happy to be returning to class with people he knew, and was only a bit bitter when he read the letters Hermione sent him from the castle.

If it all blew over quickly, it would be okay. Maybe in a few months. Remus could only hope.

I'm really really sorry about not updating for so long, Unfortunately, I can't say that I know the next wait will be any shorter.

Reviews are super motivational though. Really, super helpful.

Thanks for reading!

-MP