The next day Remus placed a few basic appearance charms on himself before paying a visit to number seventeen, Windermere Court. He walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell. A house elf opened the door and showed him into the parlour, offering him a seat. A few moments later the elf brought him some tea.
'Master Black will be down to see you presently, sir,' she said before leaving the room.
A sudden shriek filled the house. Remus jumped up.
'YOU UNGRATEFUL, MISERABLE BRATS!' a woman's voice roared. 'IF I EVER GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I SWEAR TO MERLIN I'LL CRUCIATE YOU SCOUNDRELS TO WITHIN AN INCH OF YOUR LIVES!'
Remus was filled with sudden pity for Harry. How could he ever have thought Harry might be better off in such a horrible place? He should have told Dumbledore immediately.
How poor Harry must be suffering, he thought guiltily.
Then he heard the giggling in the next room. Drawing on his long-disused Marauding skills, Remus crept over to the door and peeked in. Two sniggering boys stood on either side of the other door, which led into the hallway. Remus was confused. If he had been threatened with torture by a Dark witch, laughter would not have been his first response, yet the boys showed no sign of fright.
'Do you think she's opened the wardrobe yet?' asked the smaller, blond boy, whom Remus did not find familiar.
The other boy checked the clock on the mantelpiece and shook his head. 'Just a minute,' he said.
The taller boy, with his flowing dark locks and dashing features, reminded Remus very strongly of Sirius, and Remus suspected that this might be Harry under some sort of disguise. As he stood there, watching the boys wait, Remus suddenly realised what was going on, and grinned, despite himself. He had walked into the middle of a prank.
A sudden explosion rocked the entire house, and the witch's yelling resumed.
'Now she's opened the wardrobe,' the dark-haired boy smirked, and both boys laughed. The scene brought a tear to Remus's eye. They were acting so very like James and Sirius had, all those years before. Remus half-expected James to walk around the corner and congratulate the boys on their success.
'Well done, lads,' the familiar voice said, chuckling from a corner of the room Remus could not see. 'You should have seen the look on her face.'
Remus turned pale. It couldn't be.
'Thanks, Uncle James,' the dark-haired boy replied.
Remus heard light footsteps, followed by a slightly out-of-breath voice that sounded as though it belonged to an elderly man.
'She's coming down the back stairs,' the voice panted.
'How angry is she, Great-Great-Granddad?' asked the blond boy, but he didn't seem at all worried. 'Is it as bad as when we turned her cat pink?'
'Worse,' Great-Great-Granddad replied.
'As bad as when we blew up the fifth floor?' the dark-haired boy asked.
'Even worse.'
The boys shared a smirk. 'Grimmauld Place?' the dark-haired boy asked, and the blond boy nodded.
'Run along,' James's voice said. 'Go with Plan Delta. I'll cover for you.'
The boys nodded and dashed off, only moments before a furious looking harpy emerged into the dining room.
'Good morning, Aunt Cassie,' James said brightly. 'Did you sleep well?'
'Where are they?' Aunt Cassie growled.
'Where are who?' James asked politely.
'The scoundrels.'
'Oh, if you mean Aries and Draco, I'm afraid they've been gone all morning,' James replied. 'They went over to Grimmauld Place early to use the library.'
'I'm going to kill them,' Aunt Cassie said. 'I'm going to kill them both slowly and painfully.'
'Compose yourself, Cassie,' said Great-Great-Granddad. 'Why don't you take a nice hot bath?'
Aunt Cassie gave a fair imitation of a basilisk stare before sweeping off in a huff. She turned back briefly before exiting the room.
'Don't think I don't know who is the inspiration for all this nonsense, James Cygnus Potter,' she said acidly. 'If it were up to me I would reduce you to a pile of ashes.'
'Oh, but think of how poor Aries would react,' James said, and Remus could hear the wry grin in his voice. 'He might send Kaa after you again.'
Aunt Cassie gritted her teeth and stormed out, muttering darkly under her breath. Remus could only pick out a few bits: 'dratted snake,' 'undignified,' 'Dark Lords' and 'juvenile pranks.' Once she left, James let out a burst of hearty laughter that brought Remus's thoughts right back to Gryffindor Tower.
'Thanks for keeping watch, Granddad,' James said.
'Not at all, my boy, not at all,' Great-Great-Granddad replied. 'I was quite a prankster myself in my youth.'
'Really?' James sounded surprised.
'Where do you think you and Sirius got it from?' The voice yawned. 'Well, I'm going to go take a nap.'
'See you, Granddad.'
Remus couldn't resist. He slipped a bit further into the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of James. He found himself looking directly into the eyes of a very realistic portrait of his dead friend, who was sitting on a table and munching an apple. His hazel eyes flickered in recognition when he saw Remus.
'Moony? What are you doing in that ridiculous get-up?'
.....
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