Hide in Plain Sight

Chapter 9

Thursday: Hide in Plain Sight

Remus and I both awoke early, each apparently thinking the same thing.

"We need to talk," he said resignedly, and I nodded agreement. There was only so long we could put off having this conversation. "You and Hermione leave tomorrow evening, and unless things change dramatically, I won't be going along."

I reached for one of his hands and curled my fingers around his. "I don't want to leave you," I murmured.

"I don't particularly want to be left," Remus said, smiling wryly at me as he squeezed my hand in return. "But there are worse things."

I was silent. My husband's life had been far from easy, and for him, being delayed in another country probably fell under the category of Minor Setback.

"As long as Billy doesn't mind having me about," Remus continued, "it'll be fine. It's not like I'm left homeless. Besides, you'll be returning shortly with a new wand for me. Or maybe we'll get an owl from Arthur today and find out that the Order's worked out a different plan."

"I was sure we'd hear from them last night," I said ruefully.

"Frankly, I'm not surprised that we didn't. I suspect that the Order has had to convene an emergency meeting, what with Malfoy's grab for power. A lot of what we do presupposed Amelia Bones being in charge, and now many of our plans will have to be revamped."

I stared at the ceiling of the motel room, trying not to feel totally disheartened. "Do you suppose things will ever quiet down?"

Remus rolled onto his side and reached out to caress my cheek. "Now, now, whatever happened to Kailin 'I-Crave-Excitement' Lupin?" he chided teasingly.

"She died in a fire three months ago," I grumbled.

"So who's left, if she's gone?"

"Kailin 'I-Want-To-Have-a-Quiet-Life-and-Babies-and-an-Ivy-covered-Cottage' Lupin," I blurted.

Remus studied me intently, the teasing gone. "Good thing you have a husband who wants the exact same thing."

I looked into the depths of his eyes, overwhelmed again by the realization that we were fighting together, for the same goals, the same end. I loved this man so much.

And I wasn't at all surprised when the gentle kisses that followed flared into a flame of passion.

* * *

As eager as hospitals are to ship people out in order to hold down costs, it's still like pulling teeth to actually get out the door with the patient and his belongings and his medications and so forth. There's a lot of paperwork involved (all of which basically absolves the hospital of guilt by saying the patient is your problem now, not theirs), so it was noon by the time Billy was loaded in the Jeep and we were ready to roll.

Billy was in outrageously good humor at being sprung. It was lunchtime, he said as we pulled away from the hospital, and could we possibly stop somewhere and get a real meal on the way home? Hermione, I noticed in the rearview mirror, looked a bit alarmed. I'm sure she assumed that Billy was terribly frail, ready to totter into the house and collapse back into bed.

"Are you sure you're up to that, Grandpa?" I asked as we waited out a red light.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I'll probably want a nap later on this afternoon, but it's awfully good to be outside again. It doesn't have to be a four course dinner," he added wistfully.

I couldn't say no. We stopped at a family restaurant that wasn't too crowded. I pulled up to the door, and Remus helped Billy out and into the building. Our waitress found my grandfather to be the cutest thing she'd ever laid eyes on, and as a result, we were served quickly and efficiently.

Billy then destroyed the rest of Hermione's assumptions by ordering an indecent amount of food. I knew full well he wouldn't be able to eat that much, and in fact, he couldn't. After only a few bites, he was already looking sorrowfully at his jumbo burger and fries.

"I may have overestimated," he admitted with obivous reluctance.

And I wasn't at all surprised when Billy began fidgeting, even though the rest of us were only halfway done with our own meals. His grand idea had been nipped in the bud, and now he was tiring rapidly.

"Are you okay, Grandpa?" I asked solicitously.

"Yeah, just a little tired."

"We'll head on home then," I said, putting down my fork.

"No, no, you go ahead and finish your food."

Remus glanced at Hermione and myself, then shook his head. "We're not all that hungry, Billy. Kailin's right. Why don't we get you home?"

Before Billy could protest again, I had tossed the tip on the table, picked up the bill and headed for the cash register.

We arrived at the house ten minutes later. It was once again stuffy and hot, and Hermione went in search of the thermostat this time while I settled Billy into his favorite armchair.

"I feel like an old man," he muttered viciously.

"Next week you'll be out running circles around the block," Remus promised, trying to cheer him.

"Grandpa," I said, "Remus and I need to ask you something. Since he doesn't have a wand anymore, he's more or less stuck here until I can bring one back for him. Would it be all right if he stays here with you for a few days?"

Billy looked confused. "I thought that was the plan. I just assumed that if he couldn't go back, he'd be staying here."

Remus and I exchanged glances. "We didn't want to assume or impose," he told Billy. "And it really shouldn't be for more than a few days."

"Hell's bells, you think I'd object to that?"

I grinned. "I was pretty sure you wouldn't, Grandpa, but after all this is your house."

Billy made a face. "Yeah, well, such as it is. Sorry I don't have a pool or a sauna like at your hotel, Remus."

Remus smiled at him. "I dare say I'll live."

"When Roger asks why Remus is still here," I said, thinking of the conversation Remus and I had earlier, "just tell him that there's a bit of a snafu with his passport."

"Yeah, I suppose Roger'll be by later on, won't he?" Billy recalled.

I suddenly remembered that we had unfinished business on the second floor. "You know what," I said to my husband, "we left that trunk sitting in the middle of the upstairs hall the other day. Do you think we could wrestle it back up to the attic?"

Remus nodded, looking resigned. The trunk was heavy and the attic was hot, but we couldn't very well leave the thing sitting where it was - especially if Roger was coming over.

"You mean you're going up in that hot attic again?" Billy demanded.

I turned to my grandfather, who was gazing at Remus and me as though we had nary a brain between us.

"Just to take the trunk back up, Grandpa," I assured him. "It won't take long."

"Well, if you'll give me a few minutes to rest up, I could help."

"You'll do no such thing. Ready?" I turned to Remus.

"Ready for what?" Hermione had stopped in the bathroom after adjusting the thermostat and just now came into the living room.

"We're going to take the trunk back upstairs," Remus told her.

"I'll help," she said at once.

"We'll be right back," I said to Billy.

"Well," he said grumpily, "if you're going to be up there any length of time, be sure to open a window so you don't die of the heat. Oh, you know what... One of those windows doesn't go up at all. The other one goes up, but it doesn't stay up. Your grandmother used to have to prop it open with a stick. Blasted old houses... The sooner I can get a contractor in here, the better off I'll be."

We were halfway up the stairs to the second floor when it struck me. I stopped dead in my tracks. Hermione nearly collided with me.

"What's wrong?" Remus looked around to see why we had paused.

"Remus!" My eyes were huge.

He frowned. "What?"

"I wonder... Oh, it couldn't possibly be, that's too simple," I muttered, taking the rest of the steps two at a time.

"What couldn't?" he persisted, following me past the trunk to where the pull rope for the attic door hung from the ceiling.

"The stick!" Hermione cried, suddenly catching on.

Remus helped me haul down the attic stairs, but the expression on his face was notably wary. "Kailin, you were so disappointed last time. Don't go getting your hopes up again."

"Why not?" I demanded as a gust of escaping hot air flooded down the steps. "What other hope do we have? Tomorrow I have to go back to England without you. I might as well hope."

Resigned, Remus waved his hand toward the steps. "Let's have a look."

The attic seemed even hotter than the first time we were there. I found the lone light switch and flipped it on, shedding pools of brightness here and there on the piles of boxes and bags. There were only two windows, both grimy with years of dirt, and I immediately headed for the nearest one.

I had to bat a host of cobwebs away before I could unlock the window. It didn't open, despite my best efforts.

"Must be the other one," I said, stumbling across the space to the only other window in the attic. There was an equally appalling number of cobwebs there, and I quickly brushed them away, unlocked the window, and wiped the sticky webs on my shirt.

The sash creaked and groaned as I tugged it upwards. I released it, and it hung there for a fraction of a second before plummeting back down.

"Okay," I said, more determined than ever. "Where would it be? She wanted to hold up the window, so it would have to be nearby..."

Remus, meanwhile, stepped next to me and began to examine in and around the window frame. There was nothing lying between the window and the screen, nothing on the sill, nothing on the floor nearby. He reached up to feel above the window frame.

"Huh," he grunted.

"What is it?" Hermione wanted to know.

I wanted to know, too. I wasn't sure if Remus had uttered an exclamation of surprise or pain. It could have been a splinter or a spider bite or -

And then I caught sight of something falling, something that clattered loudly on the floor. Remus bent over to retrieve it. A smile played on his lips as he waved what was unmistakably a wizard's wand, causing a burst of golden sparks to fly from the end of it.

"Your magic wand, madame," he said, handing it to me with a bow and a flourish.

I took it gingerly, almost unwilling to believe it was real, that we'd actually found it. Marvy's wand. The part of her life that I'd never known about until last year, there in my hands. She'd given it all up for Billy, and ultimately, her children.

"I can't believe it," I murmured.

"I can't believe she used her wand to prop open a window," Hermione said, looking somewhat aghast at the notion of using a magical object in that manner.

Remus brushed a stray lock of hair from my sweaty forehead and kissed me there gently. "We need to go back downstairs before we suffocate, dearest."

I nodded vigorously. "Here," I said, handing the wand back to him. "You'd better hang onto it for safekeeping."

With a smile, Remus slipped the wand into his pocket and motioned for me to take the lead back down the attic stairs.

"Wait..." I went back to the window and locked it, then turned off the light before heading downstairs.

Hermione was standing by the trunk when I reached the second floor hall. "I suppose it'll be easier to get it back into the attic now. Or did you want to try to open it now that you have the wand?"

I exchanged glances with Remus. "Let's open it," I said. "Except let's take it downstairs so we can open it with Billy."

Remus levitated the trunk easily, and we maneuvered it down to the living room. From his easy chair, Billy stared at us dumbly.

"Is that it?" he asked.

"Your wife's wand, sir," Remus said, handing it to Billy once the trunk was on the floor.

Billy took it gingerly, studying it. Then his eyes welled up with tears and he began to sob.

"It's okay, Grandpa," I said, my throat tightening. I knelt down and hugged him; he clung to me, still overcome.

"I miss her so much, Kailin," he choked out.

"I know, Grandpa, I know. So do I." Tears streamed down my own cheeks as I knelt there.

Moments later, Remus placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Hermione coming into the living room with a box of tissues in her hand. Still sniffling, I climbed to my feet and took a seat on the sofa. I took a tissue, and Billy did the same.

"Thank you, Hermione," he managed weakly, handing the wand back to Remus. "Here, son. You need this more than I do."

"Thank you, Billy," Remus said, a quick smile flitting across his features. "I'll take good care of it."

Billy sniffed, readjusting his position in his chair. He cleared his throat loudly. "I know you will. Just use it to take good care of these two," he added, gesturing to me and Hermione.

"I swear it."

"But where'd you find it? Up in the attic?"

I nodded. "It was the stick Marvy used to prop open the window. When you mentioned that, it occurred to me that just maybe she'd used her wand to hold the window up."

"I'll be darned." Billy shook his head in disbelief. "It was there all the time."

"Grandpa, would you like to have a look inside the trunk? We can, now that we have the wand."

"I'd love to," Billy said brusquely, finally able to master his emotions.

Remus waved the wand, and with a simple "Alohomora!", the trunk lid unlocked itself. He gently opened it all the way.

The first layer of the trunk's contents was comprised of clothes, classic styles from the 'Forties: dresses, blouses, skirts, even shoes. Some bore the labels of British manufacturers, while others appeared hand-sewn. It suddenly struck me what I was seeing.

"It's her trousseau," I murmured, running my hand over a handsome green tweed suit.

"Her what?" Hermione echoed.

"Her trousseau," I repeated softly. "A bride's wardrobe. Women used to build up a wardrobe before they were married, so clothing purchases wouldn't be a drain on finances."

"You mean, a drain on the husband's income," Remus corrected with a wicked grin. I fixed him with an evil glare.

"I believe I phrased it more politely," I said primly. Behind me, Billy chuckled.

Beneath the trousseau were several of Marvy's nursing uniforms, still crackling with starch. And beneath that...

"Her Hogwarts robes!" Hermione exclaimed in excitement and reached in to unfold a black robe with the Hufflepuff crest upon it. She held it up in front of her, modeling the robe for all of us.

"It looks odd to see you with Hufflepuff robes," Remus told her.

"Feels odd, too. Hmm... I think the robes then were a bit heavier than ours are now."

"Damn workmanship and materials aren't what they used to be," Billy grunted.

There were spell books, potions texts, a charred metal cauldron, a much-used mortar and pestle. A diploma acknowledging Marva McLain as an official graduate of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Class of 1941. Another diploma from the Bromwell Regional Hospital and Home, certifying that Marva McLain had completed the course of study required for the title of Nursing Sister. And lastly, what looked like a series of diaries.

"You should read them, Grandpa." I held them out to Billy, but he was shaking his head.

"You take 'em, honey. In fact, you can take all this stuff, if you can get it on the plane. It's no good to me, I'll just cry over it. You're married to a wizard, so I think that it's rightfully yours."

I glanced at Remus. He nodded, placing a gentle hand on Billy's arm at once.

"We'll take good care of it all, Billy. We won't be able to take it all back at once, but I'm sure we can arrange to have it shipped."

"Sounds good." Billy scowled at the floor.

Remus eyed him in concern. "We won't do anything with the contents without talking to you first," he began.

"It's not that. It's just that now I'm home, and you all are leaving," Billy grumbled.

"Not until tomorrow evening, Grandpa," I said. "We'll be able to see you tomorrow before we go."

"I know. I just wish I'd been well, and we could have had a good visit instead of you having to see me in the hospital."

I smiled, reaching out to hug my grandfather. "Well, when you get your hip fixed, you'll be able to come see us."

"I don't know," Billy said worriedly. "I still don't have a passport."

Remus chuckled. "If that's all you need, no problem. I don't have a passport either, but I used magic to make one. If nothing else, I'll make one for you and mail it."

Billy shook his head, a weary smile flitting over his face. "Kailin, sometimes I have to wonder if your grandma isn't looking out for you somehow."

"Grandpa," I said fervently, "I know she is."