Chapter Twenty Five

Miles away in the center of London, Sirius Black stood with his head bowed as his mother's words washed over him.

"…And what did I tell you about talking to strangers? You were born into a family of high status. You are not to go gallivanting about with mudblood children that has Merlin knows any number of diseases and filthy blood and you are not, under any circumstance, to talk to strange men like the ones back there. Do you understand me?"

"I didn't… I wasn't…" He regretted the words as soon as they came tumbling out of his mouth. She knew far too much for her to only be guessing about the day's events. He had thought she was going to fetch his brother, but he suddenly realized that when she had returned, Regulus was nowhere to be seen.

"Don't you even think about lying to me, Sirius Orion Black." His mother's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper, eyes going deadly cold in an instant, holding the manic look that Sirius was so terrified of seeing. "I saw you with those mudbloods, playing with them, touching that filthy boy. He looks diseased, like an animal. Merlin only knows what you could have now because of him. I wanted to see how far you'd go, how long it would take for you to forget all we ever taught you, to forget every drop of dignity and pride you have for your family. It didn't take you long. I bet you wish you lived with them, were a filthy contaminated mudblood like them."

When no response was forthcoming, her eyes blazed with a burning fire that threatened to consume him in their angry columns of flame.

"Go to your room."

When he made no movement, her voice rose to a deafening crescendo. "Go to your room! I don't want to see your traitorous face until your father gets home. Then we'll discuss what's to be done with you. Go to your room, or I'll bloody make you!"

Sirius' legs, which had previously felt as if they had been plastered to the expensive carpeting by some unknown force, suddenly took charge and carried him up the stairs and into his bedroom faster than he'd ever thought was possible. Slamming the door behind him, he stood with his back pressed up against it, legs trembling with shock and terror. He'd seen his mother in a rage before, but never like that. When his legs could no longer support him, he slowly slid down the door and into a sitting position, burying his face in his knees and letting out a shaky breath.

What were they going to do with him? Would they send him away? Keep him locked up, a prisoner of his own house for the rest of his life? He reached into his robe pocket and wrapped his fingers around the strangely comforting wrinkles of scrap paper, where the dark-haired man had written his floo address.

He felt confused. His mother told him that those people had been diseased, filthy, not entirely human because they were mudbloods. And even though the little boy had looked rather sickly and fragile, the two men had been the nicest adults that he'd ever come across in his short five years of life.

That doesn't matter. Sirius knew better than anyone that appearances were deceiving. Those men could be just like his mother, putting on a kind face in public, wielding brutal hands behind doors and even crueler words. And why did their little boy look so unwell in the first place?

He yanked the scrap of paper out of his robe pocket, spreading it out across his knee. He stared blindly at the hastily scribbled letters, wondering if he dared to use that escape, or if he was much better off with his own, cold family. Clenching his eyes in frustrated confusion, he squeezed the paper into a ball of crumbled edges and hidden words and shoved it between his mattress and box spring.

Sirius threw himself onto his blankets, burying his face in his pillows, waiting with bated breath for his father's angry shouts to emanate from the lower levels of the house.

**…*..**…*..**…*..**…*..**…*..

Sun light pierced Remus' room the next morning, creeping under his eyelids and prodding him awake. He wriggled under his covers in a vain attempt to hide from the intrusive beam. He heard his door slowly creek open, and his head poked hesitantly out from his blankets. Ginny stood in his doorway, gazing at him with an emotion that he hadn't quite managed to put his finger on yet, but gave him a warm, contented feeling nonetheless.

"Good morning Love. Did you have a good sleep then?"

He nodded shyly and she came fully into the room, perching on his bed and brushing the hair out of Remus' eyes.

"What time is it?" he asked through a yawn.

"It's nearly ten. Breakfast is waiting for you, if you're feeling up to it."

He nodded and sat up, slipping his warm hand into Ginny's offered one as they left the room.

Harry was just setting a plate of eggs and bacon on the table as they entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Remus. How was your sleep?"

"It was …nice. I slept very well, thank you." He replied, shy yet grateful at Harry's concern.

Ginny nudged him into his usual seat, catching Harry's warm gaze and smiling.

"What are we up to today then, Harry?"

"Well," he said slowly. "I thought maybe Remus could help me with a project I've got going on out back. What do you say, Rem? Feeling up to it?"

Remus nodded eagerly, swallowing a bite of pancake before grinning up at the man. He was happy to help out in any way, if only to repay them for their kindness.

He bit the inside of his lip, suddenly wondering what it would mean to help Harry. Would he be made to do all the work while Harry stood by, criticizing him harshly and doling out punishments when Remus made the smallest mistakes? Or would he tell Remus to do one thing and change his mind a few hours later, punishing him for not doing what he wanted? But no, he reassured himself. Harry wasn't like that. But he couldn't help the anxiety fluttering in his stomach as he helped Ginny clear the table after breakfast. Nor could he stop it as he pulled a fresh change of clothes on and slid his feet into a shiny pair of sneakers, even as he marveled at the fact that they were his in the first place.

Tentatively, he stepped into the living room where Harry and Ron waited for him, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Ready, mate?"

Remus nodded soundlessly, following them through the back door.

"Rem, wait!" Hermione called, running after them holding Remus' coat. "Don't forget this. It's only the end of April. Still quite chilly."

He shrugged into the coat, smiling at her concern. "Thank you…Ant Mione." Cheeks flaming, he stared at the ground as his fingers fumbled with the zipper on his jacket, missing the shocked grin the woman directed towards him.

He couldn't believe he'd just called her that! What if he'd offended her somehow? She probably hated him now.

Kind brown eyes came into his line of vision as Hermione gently finished up the buttons and zippers on his coat. She stood, squeezing his shoulder with a smile.

"You're welcome, love. You go have fun out there. And be careful!" she called as he waved shyly, trotting after Harry and Ron. Neva came racing after him at the last minute, nearly tripping him in her haste.

"Alright, Kiddo." Harry began as Remus caught up to them, gaping at the piles of wood and toolboxes around them. "Have you ever seen a tree house before?"

Remus chewed his bottom lip, thinking. "No," he said with some uncertainty.

Ron pulled a crumpled photograph out of his pocket. Remus' eyes widened at the seemingly impossible image of a house built high up in a tree, complete with several small rooms and bits of furniture.

"Is that…is that actually possible?" he whispered, tracing the outline with a fingertip.

"It is," Ron confirmed. "I had one as a child, myself. It's loads of fun. So we figured you should have one, too. Only if you want it, of course."

Remus' head was spinning. They wanted to build him a tree house, because they thought it would be fun for him? "B-but you don't have to. I mean, it looks like a lot of work and I don't want to be a burden or anything-I mean, if it's too much trouble-"

"Remus," Harry interrupted him, placing a hand on his skinny shoulder. "We want to do all we can to make you happy. It's no problem to any of us, I promise you. Not to mention, we'd have a good laugh trying to build this. So what do you say?"

"Well if you're both sure it's ok…"

"No problem at all, kid. Now, how about you come help us pick out a good tree?"

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Nearly an hour later, Remus had picked out one of the sturdiest trees he could find that wasn't too far into the woods and still visible from the house. Harry and Ron had set about planning out the structure of the tree house, and Remus sat on a nearby boulder, giggling at their antics.

The sun had climbed to its highest point in the sky by this time, and the surrounding foliage swayed in the early afternoon breeze. Remus basked in the peaceful atmosphere, tucking his hands in his coat pockets to hide them from the sharp wind. He drew his knees up to his chin, gazing up at the birds soaring in the clear sky above the treetops. Neva was rolling around in the short blades of grass surrounding the tree roots, sneezing occasionally as dirt flew into her face.

"What do you think Remus, is this high enough?" Harry called down to him, suspended about seven feet in the air by Ron's quivering wand point.

Remus nodded, but before he could say a word, Ron was hollering up at Harry.

"Oi, why couldn't you use your broomstick mate? You're quite heavy you know!"

Harry blinked a few times before answering. "Right, sorry Ronnykins. I guess I forgot that I even had one."

"And also," Ron continued, rolling his eyes. "Do you realize that A) we're missing a few very important bits that we need to actually start building this thing? Oh and B) we actually have no idea how to even start."

"I think this calls for a trip out to the shops. What do you say?" Harry said thoughtfully, addressing the both of them. "We'll even see if we can pick up a book on how to build tree houses."

Ron shrugged. "Not like I've got any better ideas. Do you want to tag along, Remy?"

"Sure," the boy agreed, ignoring the voice in his head that was telling him to stay home where he'd be safe. The image of his parents' clouded, animalistic eyes kept running through his head, but he knew that he would be more than safe with Ron and Harry. Well, it was what he kept telling himself.

"Let's go let 'Mione and Ginny know then," Ron said, starting off toward the house.

Harry took Remus' hand as they walked. Neva scrambled after them, not wanting to be left behind.

**…*..**…*..**…*..**…*..**…*..

"This is probably good floor material," Ron said decisively several minutes later. They were standing in a store in Diagon Alley that specialized in woods soaked in magic that guaranteed stability and weather resistance.

Harry turned to him after reading the label. "Sounds good enough to me. It also matches with the wood that we already have for the railings, so that's a plus. We just-"

The rest of his sentence was interrupted by a slightly familiar looking woman. "Why hello there! Harry And Ron, isn't it?"

Harry's eyes widened slightly when he recognized her. "Hi, Mrs. Potter! Fancy seeing you here."

They stepped forward and shook hands with her, smiling politely.

"It's quite a surprise! What a small world we live in. I'm just here to pick up some extra things for my son, James. He and my husband Charles are working on a project together and they forgot some important bits, bless them."

Harry nodded understandingly. "We were going to begin building a tree house, actually. Then we realized we're missing quite a bit too and we have no clue on where to begin." He laughed self-Deprecatingly. "This is Remus, by the way."

The small boy smiled shyly up at the kindly looking woman. "Nice to meet you, Ma'am."

"Lovely to meet you too, Remus. A tree house, eh? Charles built James' when he was just a boy. I can speak to him about giving you a hand, if you like. He knows quite an extensive list of spells that keep it stable."

"That sounds great! Thank you so much." Ron grinned.

"Lovely! Do you have an address that we can floo you at?"

"We don't have one yet." Harry lied, quickly glancing at Ron who had just opened his mouth to answer. "We just moved in, you see."

"Ah, I see. Well, here's mine." She quickly scribbled something on a scrap of paper. "Drop by in a few days, and we'll have a chat then."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Potter."

"My pleasure. Lovely to meet you, Remus! I must go though, my boys are probably getting very impatient." With a cheery wave and a ruffle of elegant robes, she was gone.

"well," Ron murmured. "The girls aren't going to believe this."

A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you like this chapter! I just wanted to thank everyone who's stuck with me for this long. You lot are all angels! Let me know what you like and don't like. X