"Back Home" [Harry Potter] - Remus Lupin

[Dusty15]

A little bit of Remus angst-y fluff set during his time teaching at Hogwarts. Because there's not nearly enough Remus or HP fic at all around these parts

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It was three days after his transformation and still Remus Lupin felt terrible. While he was now able to avoid some of the less pleasant parts of the full moon with the Wolfsbane Potion brewed by Snape, his body still had to undergo the transformation that rearranged his bones and organs and left him exhausted and weak. The last thing he wanted was to miss more than his allotted two days of classes recovering, so on the third day he dragged himself out of bed despite a blossoming head cold and forced himself to shower and dress.

He was used to the concerned looks of students and fellow faculty alike after the full moon, but the looks on the faces of his first class told him that he looked worse than usual.

“Are you alright, Professor?” George Weasley asked when Remus had managed to clear his throat and speak loudly enough to settle down his class of fifth years.

“A touch of cold, that's all,” Remus replied and set the class working on counter-curse spells while he wandered up and down between their desks, adjusting wand positions and correcting pronunciations while struggling not to cough on anyone.

By the time his third class of the day filed into his room, he wasn't certain he could be on his feet much longer.

“Professor Lupin?”

“I'm fine, Hermione,” he said, looking up wearily from his spot hunched over his desk. “Just a cold.”

“Err, alright...I'm sorry...I just was going to ask how long you wanted the essay to be?” she said, rocking on her heels as she looked at him with an expression of growing concern.

“Oh...um....sixteen inches I believe I set it at.”

“Is it okay if I have twenty?” she asked, holding out a long piece of parchment as several students holding markedly shorter papers behind her groaned.

“That's fine,” Remus replied, taking the parchment and adding it to the pile of assignments on his desk. He cleared his throat and spoke as loud as he could, hoping the rest of the class could hear. “If the rest of you can turn in your assignments, we'll get started.”

The rest of the class deposited their papers on his desk while Remus tended to his dripping nose with a rather well-loved plaid handkerchief.

“Err...Professor?”

He looked up from behind the shield of soft cloth to see Neville Longbottom gazing shyly at him as he held out a fresh white handkerchief.

“Um...do you want an extra? My gran always packs too many in my trunk. I'm not very good at cleaning spells so she thinks I need about a dozen more than I really do. I mean, the house elves clean them if I need so...um....anyway...”

Remus lowered his own handkerchief and smiled wanly.

“Thank you, Neville,” he said, accepting the starched white square of fabric. “That's very kind of you.”

He tucked the handkerchief into his robe pocket for inevitable future use.

“Alright, everyone,” he said, standing and holding himself steady with a tight grip on the back of his desk chair. “Apologies...my voice is a bit off today so please keep it down so everyone can hear. We're going to start out with recognizing cursed objects. If you could please turn to page....hehh...”

He paused mid-sentence, lowering his red-tinged nose into the sleeve of his robe.

Hurhh-TSGHH!

The sneeze tore out of him with a thick, throaty sound and he coughed twice afterwards to regain his voice. A quiet chorus of blessings came from the students along with a few small snickers from (Remus suspected) Draco and his friends.

“Sorry,” he said with a sniffle. “Page thirty six. Read the chapter and then we'll discuss.”

He sank back down into his desk chair and flipped through his teaching notes while the students read. With his head propped up by a hand, he barely realized he'd started to doze off until a voice piped up from amoung the students.

“Um....Professor? I think we've all finished.”

“Mhm?” Remus muttered, blinking away fatigue. “Oh...right. Sorry. Alright, who can tell me three ways to check if an object is cursed?”

How he managed to keep the class going for another hour he wasn't sure but when he finally dismissed them they filed out into the hallway chattering and laughing. Harry turned in the door long enough to give Remus a small smile before he followed Hermione and Ron out.

Remus rose, joints cracking in protest, and gathering his papers into tattered briefcase. He had forty minutes before his next class and while the idea of popping up to his quarters for a quick kip was tempting he knew if he went back to bed he'd only find it harder to go return to work. Instead he headed for the Staff lounge with his case in hand.

He was nearly there when he ran into the school matron, Poppy Pomfrey. She'd been a new staff member when he'd started at Hogwarts as a boy and had been instrumental in making the arrangements to accommodate a werewolf at the school. They'd grown close during that time and she was one of the only people he'd kept in touch with during the many years since he'd graduated. Even during the years when he went silent, sending no word of his location or doings to Dumbledore, he'd managed to send word to Poppy that he was still alive and making do.

“Hello, Professor Lupin,” she said, looking him up and down with a calm expression.

“Hello, Madam Pomfrey,” he replied. “Just headed to the Lounge for a break. Care to join me for a cuppa or do you have to get back to the Infirmary?”

“I do have to get back, and I think you ought to come along.”

“Oh, no, I think I'll just see if Minerva is around.”

“Remus Lupin,” Pomfrey said, her voice gaining an icy edge to it. “The infirmary. Now.”

He stared at her, dumbfounded.

“Madam Pomfrey,” he said with a small smile. “I appreciate the concern but I'm perfectly fine. I've got a class in forty minutes so I really must be going so I have time for tea.”

“Mister Lupin,” she said, stepping in front of him to block his path towards the Lounge. “Now.”

He felt about fourteen years old again under her piercing gaze. He exhaled, breath wheezing from his lungs in an exasperated sigh.

“Fine,” he relented. “For some potion or whatever you recommend, but I've got to be back by two.”

He followed her down to the Infirmary and stepped inside the familiar ward, heading for the third door on the left. It was one of the private rooms reserved for teachers or students with contagious ailments. It had been his usual resting place after full-moons during his school days where he could be attended by the Matron without revealing his scars and wounds to other patients.

Madam Pomfrey followed him into the room and shut the door behind her.

“Robe and shirt up and off please,” she said, taking up a quill and parchment from a pocket on the back of the door. They floated beside her, ready to record an assessment.

Remus tugged his robe up and off so he sat on the edge of the hospital bed in his trousers and button-up.

“It's just a cold,” he said hoarsely.

“Shirt up,” she repeated. “I need to hear your lungs and heart.”

He sighed and pulled the shirt up and off. If he hadn't been listening for it, it would have been easy to miss the sharp intake of breath from the Matron when she saw his pale torso marred with more than double the number of scars than he'd had when she'd last examined him. The giant puckered brown gash on his side, inflicted the first moon after James and Lily's death, stood out particularly stark against his milky skin.

Circling behind him, Madam Pomfrey inserted a small device into her ear and pressed the tip of her wand to his back.

“Breathe in as deeply as you can,” she instructed. He could practically feel her eyes boring into the jagged scar on his lower back where he'd almost impaled himself on a stair railing in a wolfish rage one Halloween almost seven years ago.

He took a deep breath, feeling his lungs crackle and wheeze in protest. It came rushing back out with a sputtering cough and Madam Pomfrey withdrew her wand quickly.

“Temperato!” she said, touching her wand briefly to his brow as she came around to face him again. A small gold ribbon floated from the end of her wand, twisting into a number Remus couldn't clearly see. The tutting sound Madam Pomfrey made when she saw it told him enough.

“I'll send word to Dumbledore that he'll need to find someone to cover your last two classes today.”

“No,” Remus said, reaching for his shirt to put it back on.

“Yes,” Pomfrey retaliated. “Don't fight me on this, Remus, please.”

In an unexpected gesture, she reached out and smoothed the hair back off his forehead. It was a touch he hadn't felt in years...not since his mother had died...not since Sirius and James and Peter had met him in the mornings after the moon...

“I'll have a house elf bring down your pyjamas and dressing gown,” she said as the quill scribbled furiously on the parchment floating at her side. “I'll get you some potions to help with the congestion and the coughing and to bring down the fever. I think your body just got a bit worn out from the transformation. Nothing to be ashamed about, Mister Lupin. Your classes will be fine. I trust you have lesson plans?”

Remus nodded, swallowing hard to bury the growing lump in his throat.

“Good,” Pomfrey said. “I'll go send for you things, then. Shouldn't be long. Get your lesson plans from your case and I'll send them along to Dumbledore to arrange.”

“It's just a cold,” he reiterated as he pulled his lesson plans from his case and handed them over. “Couldn't I just rest in my room?”

“If you wish, but I'd rather have you here to keep an eye on you for a few hours. These potions shouldn't react with the Wolfsbane but I'd rather be safe and monitor things,” Madam Pomfrey replied, giving Remus' lesson plans to a House Elf who appeared with a 'crack!' at her summons.

“Bitsy, please bring these to the Headmaster and then go to Professor Lupin's room and fetch his pyjamas and dressing gown for me, please.”

“Yes, Madam Pomfrey,” the House Elf said eagerly, taking the papers and disappearing with another loud 'crack!'

“That's settled, then,” Poppy said to Remus, taking her parchment notes and tucking them back into the pocket on the back of the door. “Get changed and into bed when Bitsy returns and I'll be in shortly with the medicines.”

Remus nodded mutely and watched her go. The House Elf reappeared only a short while later with his favourite button-up flannel pyjamas and robe in hand. He pulled the pyjamas on and settled into the single hospital cot. It was weirdly like returning home to sleep in his childhood bed, he thought as he settled into the pillows.

Madam Pomfrey returned after a few minutes with a tray of potions and smiled as she saw him tucked up in the bed.

“This is a strangely familiar sight, Mister Lupin,” she said affectionately. Remus couldn't help but smile back.

“Yes, but I've got a few more grey hairs than—ehh........”

He paused, nose crinkling in anticipation of a sneeze. He took up his handkerchief from its place on the nightstand and tucked it over his nose to catch the outburst.

Ehh-TESGHHTT! Nghh-TSGHH!

With a thick sniffle he wiped his nose and finished his thought.

“I have a few more grey hairs than the last time I was here.”

“Bless you. Me too,” Poppy replied with a laugh as she set the tray down and began dosing out the potions, handing small cups over for Remus to drink. He swallowed each dutifully, putting on a brave face despite the unpleasant tastes.

“That's a good lad,” she said, gathering the tray back up and depositing a few lozenges on the nightstand along with a decanter of water and a glass. “Get some rest, Remus.”

He slid down under the covers obediently and watched her go, shutting the door as she went.

Sleep was quick and when he woke again, it was dark outside and he was coughing harshly. Tears blurred his eyes as he hacked, doubled over in bed with his knees tucked up as his chest heaved and strained to clear. A comforting hand was on his back, guiding him up to sit and putting a glass of water to his lips. In a moment of confusion, he tried to figure out who the soothing person was...his mum? Lily? He could feel the cool hand press to his forehead as the coughs calmed and he sat, leaning against the headboard panting and wheezing.

Ghhh-TSGHHH!

His head snapped forward and he sneezed freely towards his lap with a harsh explosion.

“Bless you!” the person said, putting the hand on his back again and rubbing a small circle. “Poor lad.”

His eyes finally opened and focused. Ahh...right. Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey.

“Sorry,” he croaked.

“Hush,” she said. “Lie back down. I'll get you another dose of Cough Ease.”

She disappeared momentarily and came back with a spoonful of thick liquid. She put it to his lips and he swallowed the bitter syrup.

“Are you warm enough?” she asked, adjusting the quilts across his legs. He gazed up at her through fever-added eyes and nodded. How long had it been since someone tucked him in? Brought him medicines? His eyes were drooping closed again and just as sleep took him once more he was sure he heard her sigh softly.

The next time he woke there was a bowl of soup on the nightstand kept warm with a charmed tray. He sat up and moved the tray to his lap, eating the hearty broth slowly and feeling the warm liquid loosen the congestion in his head.

When Madam Pomfrey came in to check on him, he was blowing his nose with strained, partly productive honks. She gave him a sympathetic smile and checked to see he'd eaten his soup.

“If you'd like to return to your own bed for the night, you're welcome to,” she said, pressing that same soothing hand to his brow to check that the fever was gone. “I'll send up some more potions for you before you go to sleep.”

He considered the option but shrugged and looked at her with a boyish smile.

“Do you mind if I stay here? I don't want to take up a bed but if it's okay...”

She looked secretly pleased by his decision.

“Of course!” she said. “Stay until you're well.”

He nodded gratefully, settling back down under the quilts. As he snuggled into the pillow, he felt her hand pat his back gently like she used to when he was a boy still frightened from the transformations and in too much pain to sleep. A swell of affection spread through his limbs at the touch.

“It's nice to have you back, dear,” she said as she moved to leave his room again.

He made a sound of agreement from his nest of blankets, unable to find the words to express how utterly grateful he was to be there. For so long he'd avoided visiting, fearing the castle would be too filled with the memories of his friends and forgetting that it still held people who cared for him. He nodded back to sleep filled with a feeling of love for the first time in a long, long while.

Edited November 24, 2014 by Dusty15
Whoops found a typo!

[AngelEyes]

This is just beautiful! So sweet. Perfect characterizations.

“Remus Lupin,” Pomfrey said, her voice gaining an icy edge to it. “The infirmary. Now.”

He stared at her, dumbfounded.

“Madam Pomfrey,” he said with a small smile. “I appreciate the concern but I'm perfectly fine. I've got a class in forty minutes so I really must be going so I have time for tea.”

“Mister Lupin,” she said, stepping in front of him to block his path towards the Lounge. “Now.”

He felt about fourteen years old again under her piercing gaze. He exhaled, breath wheezing from his lungs in an exasperated sign.

I can totally see this! Too funny!

I love this so much!

[Salamander]

He looked up from behind the shield of soft cloth to see Neville Longbottom gazing shyly at him as he held out a fresh white handkerchief.

“Um...do you want an extra? My gran always packs too many in my trunk. I'm not very good at cleaning spells so she thinks I need about a dozen more than I really do. I mean, the house elves clean them if I need so...um....anyway...”

Remus lowered his own handkerchief and smiled wanly.

Waah, NEVILLE! I have an enormous soft spot for Neville. What a sweetie!

“I have a few more grey hairs than the last time I was here.”

“Bless you. Me too,” Poppy replied with a laugh as she set the tray down and began dosing out the potions, handing small cups over for Remus to drink. He swallowed each dutifully, putting on a brave face despite the unpleasant tastes.

“That's a good lad,” she said, gathering the tray back up and depositing a few lozenges on the nightstand along with a decanter of water and a glass. “Get some rest, Remus.”

Ok the whole concept of this fic is actually killing me. I love that of course Madam Pomfrey would have known Remus when he was a boy and she still sees all her patients as kids at heart, despite everything.

[Winged]

Ahhh your Remus fics never fail to give me so many feelings. They're precious and in-character and heart-wrenching and always make me want to snuggle him up in a blanket and tousle his hair. So good <3

[Sitruuna]

Oh my

Yes

Yes please

I feel so weird commenting this seeing how the other replies are much more sophisticated and what not and I only have "oh my yes" to say but ahhh it's so amazing.

I don't think I've ever mentioned it but you are definitely in my top three favourite (it's a shared first place, ok) Harry Potter fan fiction writers ever.

[RiversD]

Well this is going on my little pile of Fics To Return To Again And Again...

And to learn from, too. Your prose is many things mine dreams of becoming (one faraway day).

I particularly appreciated the way you portrayed the stuttering thought processes that result from a head full o' cold. You kept the muzziness and inability to focus (or stay awake, really), consistent, so that I felt it was always there, rather than only when narratively convenient.

And the Remus/Poppy relationship, of course. Poor baby, he hasn't had much looking after since Hogwarts. *runs away for a cry because of Lupin and his unfair life*

Besides which, you have a lovely touch with interrupted sentences. Sent my heart a-flutter every time.

Kudos!

[frolicking periwinkle]

*happy sighs* I have missed your Remus fics.

I love how he gives her lip... impertinent isn't he?

[Dusty15]

Well this is going on my little pile of Fics To Return To Again And Again...

And to learn from, too. Your prose is many things mine dreams of becoming (one faraway day).

I particularly appreciated the way you portrayed the stuttering thought processes that result from a head full o' cold. You kept the muzziness and inability to focus (or stay awake, really), consistent, so that I felt it was always there, rather than only when narratively convenient.

And the Remus/Poppy relationship, of course. Poor baby, he hasn't had much looking after since Hogwarts. *runs away for a cry because of Lupin and his unfair life*

Besides which, you have a lovely touch with interrupted sentences. Sent my heart a-flutter every time.

Kudos!

A delayed reply to this, but thank you very much for this incredibly sweet and detailed comment! I'm blushing!!

Thanks to all of you, in fact

[this_is_not_me]

This is so sweet. I love the characterizations and the caretaking and just... ahhhhhh.