Once in a Blue Moon (COMPLETE)

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Watching Through Windows
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Remus Lupin sat on the table that ran alongside the window of his bedroom and looked out over the countryside that had become so familiar over the last five years.

He knew every inch of the land for miles around and loved to spend his days exploring the area that surrounded the village of Hogsmeade.

The day was warm and sunny and Remus would normally have been outside as soon as the sun rose, but today was different. Today shouldn’t have been bright and sunny; it should have been overcast and miserable, just like Remus’s mood.

Remus watched as a bird appeared in the distance and soared amongst the clouds. It was one of many that had appeared during the course of the morning. Every now and then one of the birds had seemed to come in his direction and Remus had felt his heart lift in hopeless anticipation.

“You’re still looking out at the owls?” Romulus asked from the doorway.

Remus shrugged but didn’t turn away from the window.

“I wish I’d never told you what they were,” Romulus continued as he sat down on one of the chairs at the table.

“It’s not your fault,” Remus muttered. “I know that there isn’t one coming here. I just wish…”

“I know.”

Remus nodded and continued to look out the window. They had both known for some time that today was going to be hard. Today was the day the Hogwarts invitations were being sent out and were it not for the circumstances in which they found themselves, today would have been the day that Remus received his own letter.

“Firenze was round here looking for you,” Romulus told him. “He said that he’d be in the meadows later if you want to go spend the afternoon with him.”

Remus shook his head. Normally he enjoyed spending time with the rebellious young centaur, but today he couldn’t muster up the energy to even move from his spot by the window.

Firenze didn’t understand how much Remus longed to go to Hogwarts. He’d pointed out that Remus could learn far more from his own experiences than he could in a classroom. He just didn’t realise that Remus didn’t want to learn from his own experiences. He wanted to be with other boys his own age, sitting in a classroom whilst a boring teacher droned on and on about some topic or another, complaining about homework, chatting and playing and just being…normal.

But the events of five years ago had made it so that Remus Lupin would never be normal again. A cruel twist of fate meant that instead of opening his letter from Hogwarts and going to Diagon Alley for his robes and supplies, Remus was sitting watching the owls pass him by, wondering what it would have been like to know that in a few short weeks he’d have been living in the castle round the corner instead of in the old haunted house on the edge of the village.

Sometimes he wished that he didn’t know about Hogwarts. But his brother had attended the school for five years and had told Remus all about it long before the werewolf had attacked him.

His brother had been a prefect for his final year at the school and Remus still remembered how proud he’d been to receive the honour. He might even have been made head boy were it not for Remus.

“Do you regret it?” Remus asked quietly.

“Regret what?” Romulus replied, confused as to exactly what direction his younger sibling’s thoughts had taken.

“That you never got to finish school.”

“I got my OWLs,” Romulus pointed out quietly. Remus could tell he almost sounded guilty that he’d had the chance to go to Hogwarts.

“You got full marks on everything. You could have got your NEWTs too…if it weren’t for me.”

“You’re worth far more to me than a piece of paper with exam results on.”

“But you could have had a good job.”

“I have a good job.”

“You work in The Hog’s Head as a barman,” Remus replied. “You could have done anything. You wanted to work with kelpies.”

“Sometimes I wish you didn’t have such a good memory,” Romulus teased. “I could still work with kelpies later on. They aren’t going anywhere. Besides, Abe’s a good bloke to work for, and he doesn’t ask questions.”

“How come he didn’t recognise you?”

“I used to go to The Three Broomsticks when I came into the village. Never met him.”

“But don’t you worry that someone else might recognise you?”

Romulus looked away and Remus could tell that he was hiding something. “Have you been recognised?” Remus asked, dreading the answer.

“Abe is Albus Dumbledore’s brother,” he finally admitted. “He stops by on occasions and I think he knows who I am.”

“Why hasn’t he said anything? Why hasn’t he called the Ministry?”

“I don’t know,” Romulus replied. “There’s not much gets passed Dumbledore and I’ve no doubt he knows exactly why I didn’t return to school for my NEWTs. If the first time I saw him in the pub hadn’t been on the evening of a full moon I’d have packed our things and took off then and there. But by the time the full moon was over, it was clear that the Ministry weren’t beating down the door and since we didn’t have anywhere else to go and it took all my savings to buy this place…”

“I’m sorry.”

“What have I told you about apologising for things that aren’t your fault?”

“Sorry,” Remus replied with a sheepish grin and Romulus rolled his eyes, knowing it was hopeless.

“Do you think I’d have got good results at school?” Remus asked as he turned back to the window.

“Of course you would,” Romulus assured him with a quick hug. “Now I’ve got to go to work.”

Remus nodded absently.

“You’d have been top of the class Rem.”

Remus tried to muster a smile but another owl swooped down nearby and Remus felt his heart lurch at the sight. Then the owl passed by the house and the moment of false elation disappeared with the bird.

Romulus left and the hours passed by more slowly than they ever had before. Remus’s eyes were starting to drift shut as the sound of shouts and laughter carried to him on the wind.

He sat up straighter and strained to see where the sounds were coming from.

The two boys were in the village itself. They were laughing and playing in the sun. Remus could see that they both had wands, not surprisingly since the village was made up entirely of wizards and witches.

“You missed it!” one of the boys called out as his friend crowed in delight that he hadn’t missed at all.

Remus frowned. Missed what?

Then he saw the second boy raise his wand and point it at one of the owls passing overhead. The spell shot out and hit the bird, which fell to the ground with a thump.

Remus drew in a sharp breath as he looked to see where the bird had fallen. He spotted it lying stunned on the path but the boys who’d felled the creature didn’t seem to have noticed. Or more likely, they weren’t bothered and had simply moved onto their next target.

The bird didn’t seem to be moving at all and Remus knew he couldn’t leave it there.

He climbed down from the table and hurried outside to the unconscious owl.

The barn owl didn’t move as he picked it up, nor did it release the letter it was carrying.

“To Mister Sirius Black, 12 Grimmauld Place, London,” Remus read aloud. He turned the envelope over and saw the official Hogwart’s seal. “Lucky Sirius,” he muttered, unable to keep a trace of bitterness out of his voice. “At least he gets to go to Hogwarts.”

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“SIRIUS!”

Sirius Black heard the scream of his mother and cringed at the sound. He turned back from the window that he’d been staring out of and descended the stairs to see what it was he’d done, or not done, this time.

“Where is it?” Walburga Black demanded the moment that Sirius stepped over the threshold to the study.

“Where’s what?” Sirius asked with a frown. He didn’t recall hiding anything away recently but there was always the chance that it was something he’d moved some time ago that had only just been missed.

“Your letter,” Walburga stated as she held out her hand.

“I don’t have any letters,” Sirius replied. “I’ve not had any post all week.”

“You must have. I’ve just seen those Potters down in Diagon Alley with their son. Right proud of him for being accepted to Hogwarts, they are. If he’s got his letter then you must have one too.”

“It’s not arrived,” Sirius muttered with a shrug.

“The Potters got their letter two days ago.”

Sirius stood silently and shifted from one foot to the other. He hadn’t received his letter so he couldn’t produce it. He didn’t know what his mother was expecting him to do about it.

“Well, we’ll go and get your supplies anyway,” Walburga stated imperiously. “You won’t have been rejected from Hogwarts. All the Black family have attended Hogwarts and you’ll be upholding the tradition. Go wash your face and put on your best robes. We’ll leave immediately.”

Sirius nodded and scurried out of the room to do his mother’s bidding.

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Diagon Alley was crowded with parents and children who had clearly received their letters and were now hurrying to buy their supplies before the stores began to run short. Sirius could see many of the people frequently referring to the letters to check they had everything they needed.

“How will I know which books to buy?” asked Sirius as he looked into the window of Flourish & Blotts.

“I’ll purchase them for you,” Walburga stated as she swept into the store and began pulling books off the shelves. Sirius held out his arms as she piled one book after another into his hands.

“I didn’t think they taught the Dark Arts at Hogwarts,” Sirius said as he spied the title of one of the books.

“So you’ll have a few more books than the rest of the class,” Walburga muttered. “It means you’ll have no excuse not to come top in all your subjects.”

Sirius nodded as his mother continued to pick out books for his selection. He noticed that there weren’t any books on Defence Against the Dark Arts but when he brought it to his mother’s attention she merely shrugged and moved on towards the Potions section of the store.

Once Sirius had all the books he needed, or at least the ones that his mother believed he needed, they headed towards Madam Malkins for his school robes.

“In green and silver,” Walburga announced as Sirius climbed up onto the stool in order to be measured. “The Slytherin colours always look so good with the family colouring.”

“A second year, eh?” Madam Malkin asked as she brought Sirius’s arm up to take the first measurements.

“First year,” Sirius replied.

“But…” Madam Malkin turned to Walburga. “If he hasn’t been sorted yet, surely you’d rather purchase the standard school robes that can merely have the house badge added to it?”

“My son will be in Slytherin house,” Walburga replied with a sneer at the dressmaker.

“You do understand that with the material you’ve requested we are unable to offer a refund or exchange if your son should be sorted into one of the other houses?”

“My son will be in Slytherin,” Walburga repeated.

“Very well,” Madam Malkin nodded. “Would you like the Slytherin tie as well?”

“Of course.”

Sirius stood patiently as Madam Malkin continued to take the measurements she needed.

“Green lining inside as well, if you please,” Walburga asked.

“Certainly Madam. They’ll be ready for collection by noon tomorrow.”

“I’ll pay you an extra fifty galleons if you can have them ready by close of business today.”

Madam Malkin looked momentarily astonished but hurriedly assured her that this would indeed be possible.

Sirius spent the next few hours trailing after his mother as she descended on one store after another, purchasing both Sirius’s school supplies and items for Grimmauld Place.

“I suppose you’d like an owl?” she asked as they came to a halt outside of Eeylops.

Sirius grinned instantly at the idea of having his own owl and nodded eagerly. “Can I pick it?” he asked.

“Certainly not,” Walburga muttered. “You’ll probably pick the most sickly animal in the store.”

Sirius felt a small stab of disappointment in not being able to choose his own pet but the joy of having an owl of his own was more than enough to quell it.

“That one!” Walburga stated, pointing to a bad-tempered and rather vicious looking tawny owl at the back of the counter.

The owner of the store turned to see where she was pointing and paled slightly. “Is the owl for your own use, or for the boy’s?” he asked hesitantly.

“My son’s,” Walburga replied with a glance at Sirius. “He’s just been accepted to Hogwarts and will be needing an owl.”

“Hmm.” The owner looked even more nervous. “Perhaps a more amenable bird would be better suited to the boy. Damon is rather cantankerous and is known to bite.” He raised his own hand to show the evidence of this and Sirius looked warily at the bird. If that was the damage he could do to a grown man, what hope did he have of arriving at school with all his fingers intact?

“That bird, or we take our business elsewhere,” Walburga demanded.

The owner shrugged and turned to bring the cage down from the shelf. Sirius moved forward to pick up the bird as his mother paid for the animal and purchased the flashiest cage in the store.

Damon looked back at him and Sirius sighed at the malevolence in the bird’s eyes.

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It was dark by the time Sirius and his mother arrived back at Grimmauld Place. They’d finished their shopping early in the afternoon but had had to wait until the robes were finished. Madam Malkin had remained at her place of business long after the usual closing time in order to finish his new robes.

“You’ve got a letter Sirius!” Sirius’s younger brother Regulus called from the kitchen as soon as they stepped through the front door.

“That’ll be your Hogwarts letter. Clearly they’re using deficient owls these days,” Walburga muttered. “Thankfully you’ve now got a fine bird of your own and won’t need to rely on the school owls when you write home.”

Sirius nodded thanks to his brother when he passed him his letter and then struggled to carry all of his new belongings upstairs to his room.

Once he’d set his things down he threw himself across his bed and looked at the letter. He frowned when he realised that the letter didn’t have an official Hogwart’s seal and, on closer inspection, the address was written out in rather untidy handwriting. Curious as to what it contained, Sirius opened the letter and saw that it wasn’t from the school at all.

Dear Sirius Black

I am sorry to tell you that your Hogwarts letter has been delayed. The owl that was bringing it was injured and won’t let go of the letter for me to send it with my brother’s owl. My brother says the owl should be well again in a day or two and we’ll send him on his way then.

I know you must be eager to get your letter so I wrote this to let you know not to worry.

Sincerely

R.L.

Sirius looked at the letter and saw that there was no return address and the only clue as to who had sent it were the initials.

“Regulus!” Sirius called as he stuck his head out of the door. His brother looked out of his own room in response to his call. “Is the owl that brought this still here?”

“Yeah, why? Do you need to reply to the school?”

“It’s not from the school,” Sirius confided. “The owl delivering my letter’s been injured.”

“Probably been attacked by a brute like that thing you’ve brought home,” Regulus muttered. “What possessed you to pick that thing?”

“I didn’t, mother did.”

“Figures.”

“Can you go get the owl so I can send a reply to the person who’s looking after the owl?”

Regulus nodded. “Sure, back in a minute.”

Sirius smiled and hurried to his desk as his brother ran down the stairs. He vaguely heard the sound of a thump as his brother took the last flight by sliding down the banister. The thump was followed immediately by a predictable yell of “Regulus!”

Sirius grinned as he grabbed a quill and a piece of parchment and began to chew on the former as he tried to decide what to write.

After a couple of failed attempts he’d finally decided what to put and re-read his letter one last time before sealing it with hot wax.


Dear R.L.

Thank you for your letter telling me the owl with my letter from Hogwarts had been injured. My mother had been worried it was lost and took me for my school supplies today anyway in case it didn’t arrive.

Do you and your brother go to Hogwarts? I’m going to be a first year student this year so if you are going to be at platform 9 and ¾ on 1 September I would like to meet you to say thank you in person. I’m sending my own owl back with your own and you can send a reply with him.

Sincerely

S.B. Sirius Black

PS: What does R.L. stand for?

“Doesn’t sound like I’m too desperate to make friends,” Sirius muttered to himself. “If R.L. isn’t a first year like me, I can just say thank you. If he or she is a first year maybe we can be friends.”

He sealed the letter and attached it to R.L.’s brother’s owl and cautiously approached Damon’s cage. “You’re to just follow this owl and bring back any reply the owner has, right?”

Damon looked back at him and Sirius pulled out his new wand so that he could open the cage from as far away as possible.

A few minutes later and Sirius was sitting back at his window, watching the two owls disappearing towards the horizon. He hoped that Damon didn’t attack the other owl, or the owner and belatedly realised he should perhaps have put a warning in the letter about his own owl.

“Oh well, too late now,” he mumbled as the birds vanished from his sight.