Hope you all had a very merry Christmas, as much as you deserve one <3

Before you start shouting at my face, trust me, I wanted to have this chapter up back in November 27, 2018 to celebrate my first anniversary of starting this story... but life decided against it with a dreadful plot twist, so here I am a month later.

Harry had opened his mouth to say no, but found himself uttering a yes... he still had something left to say. Harry couldn't hold the words back any longer, nor could he bear having Remus hurt from him even if he didn't act on that sadness.

Even when Harry had expected him to be upset, Remus instead chose to help his former student get away from Snape's clutches and avenge him from those who wronged him.

Remus cared very much about him, Harry could easily tell, and being his ungrateful self, Harry just had to repay Remus by stinging words... that hit Remus with an unsettling reminder of what he had lost.

"I am sorry, even if it's late already." Harry spoke in a desperate voice, ignoring Ron's bewildered expression.

"You amaze me with how often you apologize, mate," remarked Ron, smirking, the words muffled by his full-mouth. "Second nature is what I call it."

Remus was taken aback, raising his eyebrows in confusion, before understanding flashed through his furrowed brow. Remus racked his brain for what could possibly be the source behind the shadow of sadness evident in Harry's eyes, till he found it in his grasp.

Harry was still pleading for forgiveness just for bringing up the topic of his parents, Remus reckoned recalling their last encounter, which for all he knew wasn't a good enough reason.

Harry was pained for him and from how he, Remus, had left as a reaction.

"It's not your doing, Harry," said Remus gently, shaking his head. Harry only looked up at him with disbelief voiced out from his eyes, provoking a sigh from Remus.

Remus refused to leave Harry drown in guilt for all that took place in his life and was out of his control.

"I didn't mean to--"

"Woah, calm down, it's fine," interjected Remus, cutting off Harry mid-sentence, not looking forward to hear any of the apologies that weren't in their rightful place.

Encompassed by empathy, Remus knew that Harry was probably as disturbed as he was, maybe even more, for leaving James and Lily behind just after he had first met them.

"I shouldn't have talked about them," mumbled Harry, knowing that he had caused more pain by opening the emotional door that was better off sealed.

"No, I am actually glad that you brought it up," replied Remus, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Soothing talk pats the pain on the back."

"In fact, I don't blame you at all, it was just..." Remus breathed heavily, closing his eyes with a shake of his head, the words dying in his throat.

It was just, the heart-wrenching revelation had rubbed a bit more salt with a taste of reality to the stinging wounds that had never relaxed or ceased scarring Remus.

"I've learned, long ago, to accept it," whispered Remus steadily, aiming to convince himself more than Harry... but with a tight chest, Remus knew that even till now, he still couldn't get over the loss.

Leaving the scars of eternal agony to heal by the salve of time had helped him wear a new face, enabling his inner strength to shield his broken self and empowering his patience to tower over the unspoken pain.

Teaming up with the years of torture, the past couple of days were filled with harsh realities, hitting Remus like falling bricks one after the other... and he was still desperate to keep himself standing upright, trying to walk through it and balance his heavy heart.

Nevertheless, it was worth a smile that Remus still had some of those he cared about around... sadly not all were with him, but at least he was no longer all alone.

***
Without a warning, the hospital wing turned dark for silent moments before a silver cloud came along, as though the flickering light meant to play tricks on them.

The bright wisp of mist-like vapour circled around Harry before stopping dead in its tracks, staring fixedly into his eyes.

"Harry, come, Dumbledore's office..." the silver shaggy dog spoke in a raspy, and all familiar, voice. "Lemon drop."

In a flash, the warm glow that came with the thick Patronus disappeared, just as quickly as it had appeared.

"How serious could that be, ey," said Tonks, snickering at her own joke, having returned to their circle.

Upon Tonks' arrival, Remus glanced over his shoulder at the young slytherin boy who seemed more amused now with Poppy fussing over him.

"Like what could be so important that he wants Harry for?" Tonks thought loudly, her mouth obeying signals from her brain, especially when no one snickered back.

"To cover up the crime... Sirius killed Dumbledore," announced Ron, directing his words at Harry. "I bet you ten galleons."

"Are you mental?" Harry covered up his snort with laughter, his voice laced with shocked sarcasm. Quick-tempered, Harry reached for the nearest pillow and repeatedly smacked Ron. "My godfather is not a murderer, Weasley!"

"Alright, alright, ease off, mate," squeaked Ron defensively, ducking his precious head away from being an easy target. "Oi, Bloody Hell."

However, Ron's effort was abortive, doing a poor job in making Harry relent. Harry's eyes lit up with amused determination, taking it far to the necessity of remaining loyal to his godfather even and perhaps most especially behind his back.

Ron groaned, raising his hands protectively. "I just mean, you should've seen his face yesterday --easy there!-- Sirius looked absolutely ready to finish him off, after the..." Ron stopped abruptly, recalling the occurrence of the mental attack.

Harry's smile slipped, being shocked into silence. Panting, Ron fixed his gaze on Harry, whose arm froze in the heavy air fueling down the weapon-like pillow.

Harry had wanted to forget all about the dreadful mental attack and never have it brought up again in any way... but apparently not, Ron just had to break it to him, slapping him on the face with what he had done.

"Even if he wanted to, Sirius wouldn't do it," commented Remus, amending the situation and making up for the tense silence, placing a hand on Ron's knee. "Or I think? No guarantees there," he added as an afterthought, smirking, to which Harry felt a bit lighter with the weight balancing off.

"See, you need to learn to take a joke as it bloody is," said Ron, offering his best friend a genuine smile and an unspoken apology, to which Harry returned with a grin of his own, the hurt in his eyes no longer there. "Right, so run along, mate."

As if on cue, Madame Pomfrey made her way through to check on Harry, for what he hoped would be the last time this year, and indeed, it was... with a swish of her wand and under her command, Harry was finally freed from the invisible ropes of the hospital wing, granted, without facing her wrath much.

"Your stay wasn't that bad, I hope," said Pomfrey, a bit offended by his more than enthusiastic reaction to leave the binding bed.

"Of course, it was..." Harry paused meaningfully upon her raised eyebrow holding a threat. "--Absolutely not, it was spectacular. I'll come back for the holidays, cross my heart."

"Oh no, I'd like to spend my holidays in peace, if you don't mind," replied Poppy, smiling at him, then broke eye contact to collect a healing potion. "Besides, I am not looking forward to see you, or anyone else for the matter, here anytime soon." 

Poppy patted him on the shoulder, sending waves of caring warmth all the way to his brain. Since day one, Harry implanted the image of her as a mother-bear, made up of nothing but kindness, but still not the one to mess with.

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey," said Harry, offering her a wide grin, to which she nodded and left him be.

***
"Now that's settled," said Remus, a thought flashing through his mind. "Harry, mind lending me a piece of parchment and, er, let's see, a silky cloth?"

"Oh, sure-- er, what?" Harry looked dumbfounded.

Remus sighed, mentally face-palming. "Harry, if you don't mind! A spare piece of parchment and a silky cloth would do me some good... not much like what I am up to."

Remus egged on, dropping hints for one --Harry, the son of a late marauder-- to grasp, without making it too suspiciously obvious for anyone else, neither Ron nor Tonks.

"Fine, I could give you those," said Ron, his eyes flickering to Harry before settling on Remus.

Remus hung his head. "Well, thank you, Ron, but I need them from Harry."

"I mean, okay, but why would you want stuff like that in the first place? And from me, that hardly makes any sense," Harry blurted out, feeling uneasy at the urgent look popping from Remus' eye-socket.

Remus sucked in a deep breath, shaking his head, wanting to shake Harry instead. "Harry, c'mon."

Harry shoved his glasses up his nose with a frown.

For Merlin's sake, clear your mind, and just think straight, Remus thought, exasperated, winding his brain to instill some sense into Harry.

"Listen, a Zonko product, it is... erm, opens and closes upon command." Remus spoke in a low voice, folding and clapping his hands together in mimic, almost regretting giving the said object back to Harry.

Harry pursed his lips in thought, and a hopeful spark filled Remus up, silently cheering Harry to solve that stupid riddle.

"Hang on-- you don't happen to mean the one you gave me, before you left Hogwarts?" Harry asked, catching the threadline at last.

"Yes, the very same one, yes." Remus breathed in relief, wanting to thank whatever supernatural force was in existence for finally landing the right answer into Harry's mind.

"Alright then," said Harry, smirking. He whispered in Ron's ear something that sounded vaguely like go get him the map and the cloak, to which Ron mumbled back an "oh!" and nodded.

Remus looked amused before a chuckle escaped him, realizing that Ron was as much absent-minded as Harry was in figuring out the riddle. Remus wasn't even much suprised that Ron had a hand on the Marauder's map and the invisibility cloak.

Since Harry had made it crystal clear countless of times that Ron was the first to give him a life resembling that of a family, the ginger-head surely had a lion-share account in the adventures held... just like the Marauders had been to Remus, back in his golden years.

Remus blinked, blocking the nostalgic waves from dancing around the mental snow sliding inside him.

"I'll head off to call Fred and George then, it's about time, y'know," commented Remus, a heavy smile lingering on his lips.

"And I'll go see what Sirius wants," said Harry, fixing his gaze on Ron.

A part of Remus was worried of sending Harry out, un-guarded and to the unknown, but he was more ensured by the guaranteed safety offered by the walls of Hogwarts and by the loyal dog he knew better than his own name.

"Okay, but listen, if anything happens, just send me a Patronus," said Remus, worry-filled. "You know how to conjure one, don't you?" At that, Harry nearly laughed his head out.

"Of course, I can... you taught me, I won't forget that, Professor." Harry replied, his eyes forever grateful and his lips smirking, in resemblance to Remus' grin.

"Come on, mate," said Ron, pulling Harry's arm and urging him to move toward the door. Ron glanced at Tonks, not wanting her to know where he was going or what he's getting to Remus, and spoke over his shoulder. "I'll, well, drop him off."

And with that, they were gone, leaving Remus and Tonks alone.

***
Tonks could feel her heart beating against her rib-cage, echoing over the unnerving silence that instantly filled the walls.

Remus stole a sideway glance at Tonks, before smiling awkwardly. "So, how is the boy, er, the slytherin one?"

"Oh Robert, you mean, such a cute one," said Tonks, clearing her throat that felt dry like frozen ice.

"Yeah--" muttered Remus, nodding. "Did he tell you anything worth mentioning?"

"Well, nothing more than the DADA professor," replied Tonks, moving closer to the chair in front of Remus. "It hurts him, way more than he could ever dare to admit."

"Yes, I saw the scar she gave him," said Remus, promising himself to make-up for the damage left behind.

"I can tell by the reflection that had been in his eyes, the amount of pain that instilled its roots deep within." Tonks spoke with great conviction, her eyes sincere. "Even when his face was wide with an unfelt smile, forcing silence on the desperate confession."

"I know," began Remus, silently hoping for someone to see beyond his own mask as much as Tonks did to Robert.

Remus sighed before offering her a smile. "A few words from you though, and voila, his walls crumble to the ground."

Remus wondered what she possessed more than anyone else that made her so much special... to Robert.

"He deserves all the love in the world," said Tonks, smiling with grace, fixing her gaze on Remus soo intensely that she nearly tripped on her own legs.

Remus gulped nervously, the sparkling twinkle in Tonks' eyes left him unsure who the words were really directed to.

"It's intriguing, y'know, that you made him laugh, when he didn't even want to smile," said Remus, taking a seat being engrossed in the conversation.

Remus didn't pay mind that he still had a small mission on his hands, nearly forgetting all about whatever he was supposed to do.

Tonks didn't even try to hide her own smile, the happiness changing her hair into bubblegum pink. "Try me," she said with a challenging twinkle in her lit up eyes.

Remus scratched the back of his scarred neck and looked up at her without saying anything, and out of nowhere, a faint trace of a grin was upon his lips.

"Er, aren't you going to, I don't know, call the twins?" Tonks asked, after the beats of silence that made the tips of her ears red. 

"What--" Remus was mesmerized, a confused frown taking over his dreamy eyes. "Oh yes, sorry." He got to his feet in a flash, panting, and walked out faster than saying 'busted.'

Tonks smirked to herself, marking her mental calendar to the day she received a compliment from Remus Lupin.

***
Harry was on his way to the gargoyle when a small object below him almost tripped him that he had to roll over to keep his feet firmly on the ground. The hallway was filled with an eerie silence, no one around, that him cursing under his breath echoed throughout.

An inspected pair of red shoe pointed with white dots and loose laces was his only company, or so he thought.

He heard a low whisper of his name that caught his breath and stopped his legs from moving forward.

The chosen one caught a glimpse of a blonde ruft of straight hair. His eyes adjusted to make out the person calling out for him. To his amused relief, it was none other than Luna Lovegood.

"Harry, it's nice to see you," said Luna, launching towards him. "How have you been?"

Harry smiled as kindly as he could. "Luna, hey, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, y'see, my possessions have been disappearing since the start of term. And not to sound selfish or anything, but I want them back." Luna replied, hanging a parchment of notice across the walls.

She was soo done waiting, for her personal things to turn out on their own, so it's time, she had urged herself, to take a step forward to find what was taken from her, against her will and for no good reason...

"That's horrible," said Harry, feeling empathic. "You don't know who took them away from you?"

"Aside from dropping notes along the way for me to read about 'what a pathetic Loony I am to have no friends up till now', they left me with nothing else to know or remember them with," said Luna, her eyes as innocent as ever and her lips curling into a sad smile.

"But I am your friend, Luna," said Harry, talking without thinking in a mental failure to censor the meaning of the words spoken.

Luna reached closer and held his hand between her own, smiling brightly without a flicker of sadness. The hurt that had been reflected in her eyes vanished in a dissolution, no longer evident.

"Thank you, Harry," said Luna, feeling ecstatic that she finally found someone who perceived her with a different lens of compassion and understanding. "I never knew what the title of friend felt like."

Harry gave her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. "Are you sure you have no idea who could be responsible?" Harry asked, feeling an urge with high voltage to help her out through any means necessary.

"At first, I suspected the Nargles were behind it," Luna began in a whisper, to which Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes. "But even they aren't that senseless to leave me long enough to catch a cold, even in the weather filled with a warm breeze, by wandering around barefoot everywhere, till I asked Dad to send me a couple more."

"Wait, barefoot?" Harry asked, before a mental lightbulb took charge. "Of course, a pair of shoes is something you have been missing, yes?" He didn't wait for an answer, kneeling down to return the object that tripped him.

Luna had her lost shoes come back to her in the most unexpected way... by the hands of the additional gift of fate coming in the form of a new friend, something she had been always desperate for.

Maybe one day, her never-changing Christmas wish would miraculously come true. Living with the belief that everything is possible, Luna convinced herself that on the long run, she could have more people who considered her as a friend.

She was left satisfied, for now, by reaching toward the light she desired, of not only having Ginny, Neville and now Harry on her side as shielding friends against anyone who would belittle her... but also fighting for the same goal with the DA members, even Ron and Hermione, brought her closer to the unfamiliar sense of belonging to an in-group.

"You must have been pretty busy and tired of searching in the most trivial corners." Harry had broken in with the question that roamed in his mind as soon as he came across Luna. "That you haven't paid me a visit in the hospital wing, right?"

"Oh, not really, er, I just figured you'd be better off alone for some time," replied Luna, her thin eyebrows sketching her face with the trademark surprised look.

Luna didn't want him to think she cared any less about his wellbeing, yet on the contrary, she had presumed with utmost emotional respect that Harry needed to be left on his own to think over everything in peaceful solitude, instead of having a disruptive crowd of coiled signals breaking through his mind from every side.

Hope you enjoyed it, lovelies :D

Sorry for the long wait, truly it was out of my hands. And thanks for those who still stuck with the story regardless.

Never underestimate the effect of your votes and comments on making my day.

Also, when and why did you start reading the Harry Potter series?