Till the End of the Road.

Chapter Three

The next day after Erin had slept in the Weasley twin’s bedroom, their joke shop was still booming, even better than before she had left them, she walked down the stairs and went into the kitchen where she found Mrs. Weasley.

“Oh, Erin, dear, I’m glad your awake, Arthur wanted me to tell you that Dumbledore is having Remus come over to discuss what happen with the auror’s, he should be here soon…would you like something to eat?”

“Um” Erin had suddenly lost her apatite. “No, still full from the food last night, your much too generous, Mrs. Weasley.”

The women smiled at this and then Erin left the room, going right back up the stairs and back to the room, Remus was coming and she had to look better than this. An hour latter Mrs. Weasley called her down stairs again, Remus had arrived, Erin heaved a huge sigh as she walked down the stairs, it had been months since she had seen Remus Lupin, she half wanted to tell him off for not keeping in touch like he said he would, the other half wanted to run up and throw her arms around him, but as she entered the kitchen she did neither, Remus Lupin sat at the table; looking tired and or bored, he seemed to have more marks on his face now than before and for some reason seemed older then she remembered. It was slightly awkward as she walked over to the table and took a seat across from him.

“Good afternoon, Erin” he spoke as if he just seen her yesterday. “Now, Dumbledore sent me to see what happen with Marty and Buddy…”

“Their dead… there’s nothing much else to be said…”

“Yes, right well…” he seemed to be acting short with her, he hadn’t seen her for months on end and he was being short with her… he didn’t even ask if she was alright. “Tell me exactly what happen, how you found them, what the house looked like…. Are you sure it wasn’t just a random break in?”

“I’m sure…” she trailed off, then went into detail of what had happen the night before, he said nothing the whole time she told the story and when she was done he stood up.

“Well, I’ll be sure to tell Dumbledore this and he will contact you with what will happen next…”

“Surely you’re not leaving…”

“I am… I have to return to my work.”

“OH… FANCY…. and what is that, may I ask?”

“No you may not, actually… that’s between me and
Dumbledore” said Remus.

“Oh, excuse me…. I’m sooooo sorry.”

“I don’t have time for this” said Remus, folding his arms and shaking his head.

“Time for what?” she barked.

“For your childishness.”

“Oh, I’m childish, am I?”

“Extremely…”

“Oh… good…I’m glad you feel that way… and I’m also so damn happy Dumbledore sent you and didn’t bother coming himself” Erin stated. “This is just like with Sirius... if Dumbledore had just come to Garmmuild Place or even had that meeting with me in the first damn place Sirius might still be here…”

“Do not blame Dumbledore for Sirius’ death… he knew what he was facing when he left…”

“Oh, that’s rich… very good” she rolled her eyes.

“ I have to go, I don’t have time for this…” he trailed off, walking away, she followed him to the door.

“Good, I’m happy to see you go and be sure to tell Dumbledore next time, don’t send you to do his dirty work and that cutting ties with the Order was insane.”

“How did you know about that? Did Buddy tell you?”

“Nope, I read his mail” at this Remus huffed. “Don’t you remember, Remus? I’m a nosy git.”

“I remember well…

“Yes, good for you… I see you don’t remember how to be nice... you didn’t even say hello or ask if I was alright…. The people that were s’pose to watch after me are dead…AGAIN, but no you don’t ask if I’m alright.”

“I said good afternoon…” Remus remarked.

“Oh, so that makes it better?”

“If you don’t like my greetings then I won’t bather anymore…”

“GOOD, DON’T BOTHER, GET THE HELL OUT!” Erin yelled.

“This is not your house to kick me out of…however I will leave anyway” and with that he pulled open the door with a huff and stomped out, Erin was left there fuming, this was NOT how she wanted to be reunited with Remus, she stopped up the stairs to her room, where she lay down on her bed and cussed under her breath.

“What the ruddy hell was that about?” she suddenly heard a voice; she opened her eyes quick to see Fred and George Weasley, sitting on the other bed.

“Where the hell did you come from?”

“Our mother’s womb” smirked Fred.

“But we don’t like to talk about it much” added George.

“No, I mean when did you get in here?”

“Oh, we’ve been here awhile,” said George.

“Yes, but you didn’t hear us come in because you were too busy shouting at Lupin…” Fred trailed off, smirking still.

“I was not shouting at him….” Erin trailed off.

“Oh, so you were just having a load chat, then?” asked Fred with a grin.

“Alright…so I might have shouted at him, but did you see the way he was acting?” Erin stated. “He didn’t even bother to ask if I was alright… would either have you asked?”

Both nodded and she made a ‘see!’ hand motion.

“Maybe it’s because of the full moon?” George suggested.

“It’s still a few weeks till the full moon… and besides he never acted that way, when I was at Grammiuld Place before a full moon.”

“Dumbledore has had him with other werewolves, maybe their rubbing off on him,” George said.

“He’s been with werewolves?”

“Yeah” said Fred. “Trying to get them on our side.”

Erin just sat there a few seconds, thinking.

“But still, what’s that got to do with me? It’s not my fault.”

“Yeah, but you haven’t been around lately, you don’t know what it’s like now, people are turning into nutters” Fred stated.

“And it’s only going to get worse….” George trailed off.

“”Because of Voldemort?"

“He keeps getting stronger…a load of shops in Diagon Ally have closed down, Olivander has been kidnapped” Fred told her.

“The wand maker?”

“Yeah” said George. Erin sat there again, thinking; it had only been a year since she had gone to Olivander’s to get a wand, now he had been kidnapped.

“So, is everyone acting rude then?” she asked.

“No… Lupin really hasn’t been either, I thought he would with…you know Sirius being gone now and all, I thought he’d crack first” Fred stated, leaning further back onto the bed. “Mum doesn’t even leave the house anymore… can’t remember the last time she did…”

“So, it was just me then?” she asked.

“With Lupin?” George asked. “It was probably something else.”

“I wouldn’t be too concerned with it” said Fred.

“Yeah, alright…so, how is Harry… and Ron and Hermione?”

“Alright” said George.

“They’re at school now,” said Fred. Erin nodded with a sigh, she was feeling more depressed than ever before.

“We should go help your mother with lunch,” she then stated. The twins then laughed at her.

“Be my guest…” Fred trailed off.

“We’ll pass…”

Erin rolled her eyes and left the room, walking down the stairs and into the kitchen, she found Mrs. Weasley cooking, with her wand of course.

“Hello” said Erin as she walked over to the counter.

“Erin, dear, everything alright?”

“It’s fine….” Erin trailed off, she wasn’t sure if she was lying to her or not, but she defiantly didn’t feel like everything was fine.

“I heard you shouting at Remus… are you sure everything is fine?” Mrs. Weasley asked, knowingly.

“You heard that?” she asked, ashamed.

“I did indeed; I don’t know who could miss it…”

“Do you think I was out of line?”

“A bit...”

“Oh great…”

“It’s alright, dear, you can apologize the next time Remus is over.”

“But I don’t want to apologize…what did I do wrong?”

“You shouted at him...”

“He was being a di…”

“He’s stressed, Erin, were all stressed, and although what happen to the auror’s is not your fault, its causing more stress, and you cannot really blame Remus for acting the way he did, even though it wasn’t your fault.”

Erin said nothing to this, she didn’t know if she wanted to agree to this or not, she understood and it made since, but after all it really wasn’t her fault and for Remus to take it out on her… stressed or not, was stupid, and she was not going to apologize… it was not going to happen, definitely not. In the next few days Erin became very depressed, she didn’t tell anyone this, but she guessed they could all tell, for she didn’t talk at meals and stayed in her room most of the time. It seemed being back at the burrow was bringing back all her old thoughts and feelings of her last stay there, it was right after Sirius had died, and she had been thinking of him more and more as she stayed there… not like she didn’t before, when she was still in America with Buddy and Marty, but it just seemed worse now. One morning she even thought of going to Garmmuild Place, but changed her mind when she concluded that it would only make things worse. And so there she sat, in her bed, staring at the drawing of Sirius she had done, it seemed like a life time ago, but felt like it was only yesterday that he died.

“Why’d you have to go running out, saving Harry?” she asked the paper, she did this a lot, talked to the paper… it comforted her, though she may look like a nutter. “Foolhardy bastard…First my mom and sister… then you...then Marty and Buddy, it’s like I’m a death sentence….”

“That’s not true” said a voice, it made Erin jump, she was really tired of people just popping up out of nowhere, she jumped to her feet and put her hand behind her back, for some reason she didn’t want to be seen talking to a drawing.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you.”

“Oh… on Dumbledore’s orders?” she rolled her eyes.

“Yes” he stated, she scowled, rolling her eyes once again. “But I came to apologize on my own accord.”

“Well, good for you” she remarked, she almost crossed her arms, but then remembered what she was hiding behind her back.

“What’s behind your back, Erin?” he asked with a smirk.

“None of your business, Remus” she spat back, trying to hide the paper better.

“You know its ok if you like to talk to the drawing of Sirius sometimes…if it makes you feel better, I’m sure you miss him, I know I do.”

“Well, thanks, but sorry, I don’t need your approval, and I don’t need your apology, so why don’t you get lost?”

“I’m afraid I cannot leave until you forgive me…” Remus trailed off, smiling slightly, as she frowned even bigger. “Now, I think it might be wise to explain myself… so if you would accompany me to the kitchen, I’m sure Molly has made us some tea by now.”

“I don’t want to” she barked, feeling like a child but she needed to get the message acrossed.

“Well, I assure you, you won’t regret it, if you’d let me explain my actions.”

“I probably will regret it... but you won’t leave me alone until I come down there, will you?”

He smiled bigger than before and she sighed.

“Fine… I’ll be down in a minute…”

“I’ll be waiting” and with that he left the room, she rolled her eyes again, and she pulled the picture out from behind her back, she pinned it back onto the wall and then slowly made her way to the kitchen, when she arrived she saw Remus sitting in the same chair he had a few days before, he was sipping tea and talking to Mrs. Weasley. They both smiled at Erin as she walked over to the table and took a seat.

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone then…” said Mrs. Weasley and bowed out of the room, quick.

“Alright then, let’s hear it” Erin crossed her arms, sitting back in her chair.

“Right, well… what you’ve got to understand is that as of now everyone is under a lot of stress…”

“I know...I know… Fred and George and Mrs, Wealsey told me” Erin stated.

“Yes, I’m glad they did, but I must say how sorry I am for taking my frustrations out on you, I had just had a run in with Tonks…who likes to blame me for everything… but that’s beside the point, I didn’t come here to talk about Tonks. I came here to make sure you’re alright and tell you how very sorry I am, I do hope you’ll forgive me... but if you don’t I am prepared to once again bag for your forgiveness, I will even let you hex me, if you’d like, humiliating myself even further.”

Erin just stared at him, should she forgive him or not? She didn’t know…she didn’t know what to say, and fought with herself not to ask what Tonks was blaming him for exactly.

“Hex you?” she smirked. “Any hex? I’ve learned a few new good ones…”

“Hm, what are these hexes?” he asked.

“You’ll have to wait till I hex you to find out” she smiled.

“Alright, have a go at me then” he smirked, knowing full well she was not going to hex him. It then got very quiet in the room, Erin didn’t know what to say now, she was still slightly hurt by his rudeness the days before... even more so finding out that part of it was do to something Tonks had done. But he had gone to all that trouble to apologize, she had no choice but to forgive him now.

“Are you going to be leaving now?” she finally asked.

“Molly asked me to stay for dinner, but I didn’t say yes or no, waiting to see how our little chat turned out” Remus stated.

“Well, I think you should stay… “

“I think so too.”

She smiled, looking down at her untouched teacup; she was biting her bottom lip, feeling giddy once again.