Chapter 12: 27th July 1991, Saturday: Part 12

Twenty minutes later and George was looking at himself in a full body mirror in one of the guest bedrooms. He was wearing a pair of black trousers and a tan polo shirt with a grey cardigan over the top, it was all designer and very expensive. Even if he didn't care, his foster parents always bought him the best. He had been ready five minutes ago but hadn't gone down with Ellie. Ignorant of her parents' fiendish scheming, she had gotten dressed fast and ran back downstairs without hesitation. His apprehension however had kept George from following in her footsteps.

Who were his foster parents? What were they up to thirty years ago? Why are they so defensive against unexpected visitors? George didn't know and was no closer to finding out. He had gone back through every single memory he had of Amanda and Dominic and it all came back negative. Until today, they had been completely 'normal', at least by his standards. Other than all the security measures, nothing had been said that might have clued George in. But then again, he hadn't been exactly looking for an answer either. He had been preparing for Hogwarts after all, not the Linwoods. Were his foster parents a threat to him? He didn't know.

Most importantly, what was waiting for George downstairs? A detective-style interview between Remus and Amanda? A torture scene of Dominic slowly tenderising Remus? A horror show of little pieces of Remus's corpse being placed into plastic bags with rocks from the garden? Or perhaps something beyond George's scope of imagination? Regardless of what awaited him, he didn't believe it was going to be fun.

George stared into his own dull brown eyes and reassured himself of his convictions. After taking a long deep breath, he looked down at his wristwatch. 11 months 13 days 22 hours and... 14 minutes. That was a lot of time and effort to throw away just because he was starting to feel a little nervous. The plan was simple. Infiltrate Hogwarts, complete the mission, and get out of there before anyone notices. Nothing had changed, the job still needed to get done. George took another long deep breath, turned away from the mirror, and walked out of the room.

He walked back down the stairs and saw that the living room was empty. George couldn't even hear anyone, which meant they had to be either silent or on the other side of the house. Wishing for the better of the two, George started running down the less confusing corridor. It didn't take long before he began to hear people talking, but something was off. The voices sounded… jolly, and there was unmistakable laughter too. As he drew closer to the origin, George realised the clamour was coming from the dining room. He reached the dining room door and pushed it open without any reservations.

"I have to say, Mrs Linwood, this cake is delicious. Did you really bake it yourself?"

"You flatter me Mr Lupin. I'm merely an amateur at best. My carrot cake is far better."

"Don't listen to her. My wife doesn't know how to take a compliment."

"That's a lie. Ellie, back me up."

"Well…you said lying is bad."

"Ellie Linwood, I can't believe you. Not sticking up for your own m… George! There you are. Took your time, didn't you?"

What was George to think? Everyone was just sitting around the dining room table drinking tea and eating cake like some sort of big happy family. Even the always frowning Dominic looked to be having a good time as he joked at his wife's expense. This can't be real. It was a spell, an illusion. Maybe the Imperius Curse, that might explain this. Or he was having a stroke from all the stress. Perhaps this morning was all a vivid dream and he would wake up any minute now… any minute now… Aren't you meant to wake up when you know it's a dream?

Amanda patted the chair next to hers, "don't just stand there. Come, sit next to me. I have something to tell you."

Like a zombie, George followed Amanda's command and sat beside her. The sudden flood of unanswered questions had caused him to just give up, any energy he had left had just been spent. This nonsense tea party was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"Guess where we're going tomorrow?"

George just shook his head with unfocused eyes. What was the point of thinking anymore? Just embrace the chaos, that was George's new mantra.

"You could at least try to look excited. Tell you what, I'll let Mr Lupin tell you instead. He'll be coming along after all."

George lifted his weary head and saw Remus at the opposite end of the table with a selection of cake slices and a piping hot cup of tea in front of him. The werewolf had been caught in the middle of spooning a slice of chocolate cake into his mouth, he appeared to be enjoying it immensely. His injuries were still there but the bruising had faded quite substantially, maybe that wolf blood wasn't completely useless after all. Remus placed his tiny dessert spoon back down and licked his cream-covered fingers before speaking.

"Do you not think we're getting ahead of ourselves? Young George here doesn't even know the half of it."

"He raises a good point. George might not even know why Mr Lupin is here", Dominic added with one of his rare smiles.

"Please, call me Remus."

Dominic nodded, "okay then. So George, do you understand why Remus is here?"

Naturally, George did know but he wasn't going to say that. Looks like he'll have to go back to the old humble ignorant child drill again. At least that was easy on his burnt-out mind, it didn't take many brain cells to pretend to be like Ellie for a while.

"Erh... I think it's something to do with a magic school?"

Amanda reached over and rubbed George's back encouragingly, "that's right George. He's here to recruit you."

"I'm only here to provide George with the option to join Hogwarts, nothing more. That being said, it does come highly recommended by yours truly. Being a former student myself, I would be remiss not to say it was the best 7 years of my life", Remus added.

"That's not exactly saying much", thought George.

Even though they had never met before, George knew quite a lot about Remus and his personal history. Due to a life full of regret and self-loathing, he had become anti-social and lived as a recluse for the past decade. Going even further back was the Wizarding War, those few years killed all his friends except one who had 'apparently' turned traitor. Plus, he had been ostracised by the magical community for his lycanthropy since he was a boy. The only years Remus had that weren't complete misery was at Hogwarts when Dumbledore and his, still alive, friends looked after him.

Amanda looked back at Remus, "you attended?"

Remus chuckled and picked up another slice of cake, "well of course I did. Practically every wizard and witch in Britain attended Hogwarts. It's not like there are a lot of choices."

"How many other schools like Hogwarts are there?", Dominic asked.

Remus returned that question with a knowing smile, "there is no school like Hogwarts, Mr Linwood."

He then swallowed another mouthful of cake before continuing, "but I know what you're getting at. There is only one wizarding school in Great Britain. So, there's no need to worry about any more unwelcomed visitors delivering acceptance letters any time soon."

"I'll have you know that you are very much welcome", Amanda chipped in before taking a sip of her tea.

Remus held up his plate of half-eaten chocolate cake, "that goes without saying, Mrs Linwood. It's not every day that I get to indulge in so many sweet treats."

He had another piece of cake before suddenly remembering, "oh, Mr Linwood had just reminded me. Has George seen his letter yet? Part of my responsibility is to make sure he receives it, not just his legal guardians."

Amanda placed her tea cup back on the table, "you know what? I'd almost forgotten about it. Here George."

She pulled the folded parchment out of her apron and slid it across the table. Already knowing its content, George picked it up and lazily skimmed through it.

It read as follows:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF W... "Too long, don't care."

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc... "Blah Blah Blah."

Dear Mr George Linwood,

We are pleased to inform you that... "Got it."

You are reading story Harry Potter and the Fractured Dragon at novel35.com

Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl... "Remus can sort that stuff out."

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGon... "Yep, seems legit."

Giving it his attention would only waste the precious little energy he had left and it's not like he possessed the ability to tell if it was a fake anyway. George finished 'reading' and placed it back on the table.

"There's also this letter too. It's got a list of all the equipment you'll need if you attend Hogwarts."

And yet another piece of parchment was graciously handed over by his foster Mother. And this letter had even more written on it than the last, lucky him. This time he picked it up and hardly read it, his lack of caring was plain to see. Not falling asleep at the table due to mental exhaustion was his main priority now.

It read vaguely as follows:

HOGWARTS S... "Done this already".

UNIFORMS

First Years students will require;

Three sets of plain... "Robes n' stuff, I get it. Moving on."

COURSEBOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following;

The Standard Book of... "Just a ton of books, done. Next."

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand... "Durr."

1 cauldron (pewter... "Some other stuff, done. I'm on a roll here."

Students may also bring if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad... "OR nothing at all if you're smart."

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK... "Didn't like Quidditch anyway."

Yours sincerely,

Lucinda Thomsonicle-P... "Thanks, Lucy. Write less next time. Lots of love, George."

George then dropped the letter and started to rub the bridge of his nose. The adrenaline from Dominic punching Remus had warn off ages ago and now he felt like he could barely keep his eyes open. He always felt more tired on crimson eye days, all the stress was just making it even worse. This talk better not last much longer or he might legitimately pass out.

"Are you alright George?", Amanda asked.

George forced his eyes open and looked at his concerned foster mother.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired. All this...", he gestured at the letters on the table, "is just so much to take in."

Remus took the final bite out of his cake and cleaned the corners of his mouth with a napkin.

"I think it's fair to say that this morning has been a lot for all of us. To learn that magic is real after spending so many years in the dark, I couldn't imagine how you all must be feeling. That being said..."

He placed the napkin on the table and stood up, "I think it would be for the best if we continue this discussion tomorrow. It'll give your family time to process everything and talk amongst yourselves."

Amanda then stood up as well, "are you sure Mr Lupin? It feels like we have barely gotten to know you. We could go out to a restaurant this evening and talk some more there. We'll pay of course."

Remus lifted his jacket off the back of the chair and started to put it back on, "that's very kind of you but I feel like I've already taken enough advantage of your generosity.  Mr Linwood said that the car journey would take roughly..."

"Four hours", Dominic answered.

"Four hours to drive to London. I think that will provide plenty of time to answer any questions you might have", Remus finished saying while straitening his tie.

The corners of George's vision were starting to narrow and everything around him had begun sounding like white noise. The tabletop was suddenly looking like a great place to rest. He forced his head which felt as heavy as a bolder to face Amanda, she looked quite troubled by Remus's sudden insistence to leave. If his foster parents were going to capture Remus again then they better keep the noise down. He just needed to nod off for a while, they could just wake him up when something important was happening.

In the end, Amanda relented, "okay Mr Lupin, but only on one condition. Let my husband drive you home. I know you'd said that you only lived a half an hour's walk away but after how poorly we treated you, it seems only right that we make sure you get home safe and sound."

Dominic then stood up and pulled a set of keys out of his jacket pocket, "we could take the F40 out for a spin. How about it Remus? Ever felt a car go from zero to a hundred in eight seconds?"

Remus appeared stunned, "cars can go that fast?"

Dominic threw the keys at Remus, "mine can. I'll let you drive."

Remus caught the keys out of the air and looked at Dominic awkwardly, "I don't know how to drive."

"Then I'll show you. Consider it your first driver's lesson. You won't regret it", Dominic rebutted whilst practically dragging Remus out of the room.

Just as the two men were about to round the corner, Remus suddenly reappeared.

"Before I leave, there is something I have to say. All this talk about magic and the Ministry is a pretty tightly kept secret. The law dictates that all knowledge of the wizarding world must not be exposed to muggles, so that means no talking about this stuff to anyone. Is that okay, Mrs Linwood?"

Amanda gave him a cryptic smile, "don't worry Mr Lupin. If there's one thing the Lindwoods are good at, it's keeping our secrets."

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