#christmas isn't canon lads

[leiflitter]

I've figured out the You’re Almost Home Timeline so for the gang who care about the passage of time it's under the cut.

Firstly, I have chosen to totally ignore the gravestone dates because of Reasons, including "okay look I started writing this when it wasn't on streaming and this is mostly so it makes sense to me" and "time is an illusion I just need to know this so I can say what year it'll be on NYE". Felix has a January birthday in my little canon and nobody can stop me.

So let's go!

2007

Felix is in Expensive Rehab Facility until Christmas. Sir James and Lady Elspeth have pulled a lot of strings to make sure that Felix's accident won't impact him in any way, shape or form. This mostly means getting him an expensive tutor and essentially permission to submit all of his work online. No need for tutorials because he's had a hard time and is a very special boy. Felix takes this chance to essentially do as much work while he's stuck in the facility as he can because there's fuck all else to do, and he's being made to quit smoking so he's mad about that. Farleigh's back as if he never left, and Venetia is being an absolute rock.

Oliver returns to Oxford, makes contact with the Student Counselling Services, and throws himself into studying so hard it hurts. He needs to distract himself. They allow him to switch tutors and move to a different dorm where he turns into a studying hermit. If he sees any of the Alpha Hotties, he hides. He becomes invisible again, even more than before. His new tutor helps him switch to an accelerated degree program.

2008

Felix turns 21 and does the Spring and Summer terms. His parents decide to go on a tour of Europe to celebrate Felix getting back on the horse. They also know he's going to graduate, because the Special Little Boy measures are in place for him so all he has to really do is log on to Moodle and submit one of his pre-written essays every so often. He's burned a few bridges because he's being very twattish. Felix decides to sack off Christmas term and heads to Bali in late July/early August. Sir James has made sure he has internet access, so what's the point of even being in Oxford? He meets Lucia, who is 18 and on her Gap Year. Because it's the end of the summer, there aren't many options, so Felix sticks with her. Harry is part of the group from maybe like... week three? Luckily, Lucia is on a cleanse, so although they're partying, she isn't drinking or indulging in anything else. In November, Lu gets food poisoning- or so they think, until the doctor Felix hauls her to gives them the news. Felix contacts his parents in a hurry, and they are flown back to the UK and subjected to a major parental conference. Felix proposes to Lu at a Catton Christmas party.

Oliver graduates early. He doesn't go home for the holidays, saying he needs to keep studying. He decides on teaching because it won't be sustainable to be a student forever. His tutor is a major help; he's from Newcastle, although you wouldn't know it because his accent has long since faded and has taken Oliver under his wing. He remains Oliver's main advisor throughout his studies and is probably the reason he gets the job- he's keeping an eye on him so he knows there'll be a Northern Lad Professor once he eventually retires. They're not exactly friends, but there's a lot of mutual respect there.

2009

Felix turns 22 and marries Lu shortly after. He briefly returns to Oxford, but mostly to make sure he graduates. Harry is born in on the 10th of April and he gets his degree in absentia. Lu gets pregnant with Ru maybe a little too soon afterwards, and Rufus is born prematurely on the 27th of November. Oopsie.

2010

Oliver gets his Masters degree in english literature.

2011

Sir James dies of a heart attack in May.

2013

Ellie is born on the 1st of August. Felix gets a vasectomy.

2014

Oliver gets his PhD. His thesis was titled "Narrative Accessibility and Diversity within Academia".

2015

Lady Elspeth passes away in her sleep.

Then a bit of a time jump until

2020

Oliver is finally an associate professor after being in postdoc for 6 years.

Farleigh finally hits on a startup that works- a designer resale app that offers item verification for an add-on fee. It's wildly successful, mostly because he's been hobnobbing in America hardcore and is getting a ton of celebrity endorsements.

2025

Venetia is diagnosed with lung cancer.

2026

Venetia passes away. Felix is bereft.

Harry gets her A level results and Oxford place, despite being 17- Lucia, having not got a degree herself, is adamant that her children be highly educated as fast as possible... and Harry will turn 18 in her first year anyway. Harry doesn't mind this, as she has a fake ID and cannot wait to be away from boring boarding schools.

Oliver Quick receives an email notifying him that, amongst others, he will be tutoring Harriet Catton.

And then Felix Catton walks into his office, and they proceed to go bonkers.

[drlucypreston]

yep, i made another mix. mostly a general flynn mix with strong garcy overtones. this is almost meant to be his reflections whilst dying, looking back from sao paulo to everything that happened after, and then the final song is from lucy’s perspective because we’d all like to forget the ending we got, honestly. enjoy!

listen

when i met death // right away, great captain!

i knew i was hiding between the good in you, and me

helplessly hoping // home free

heartlessly helping himself to her bad dreams, he worries did he hear a goodbye? or even hello?

city on fire // tyler hilton

my heart grew dense like ancient wood, choking out the last of my good

soldiers // ben howard

if this goes wrong again will you pretend that you know steady as the morning and just go?

fountain of sorrow // jackson browne

and while the future’s there for anyone to change still, you know, it seems it would be easier sometimes to change the past

for island fires and family // dermot kennedy

but wasn’t it love soon as we knew each other properly? living ‘bout half right til a certain person got to me

house of memories // panic! at the disco

i think of you from time to time, more than i thought i would you were just too kind

if i say // mumford and sons

if you were given one more chance, would you bring me back to life? bring me back into the light

monday flowers // andrew mcmahon in the wilderness

he left her on a friday, her saturday was shot the bells in the cathedral rang on sunday but monday flowers were all she got

hydra // belle mt.

take me back to hydra give me back my youth

some die young // laleh

but you better hold on so many things i need to say to you please don't, don't let me go

[thecat-isblogging-blog]

I think an underrated canonical fact about Lupin is that he couldn’t stand Trelawney. For example, he tells Harry with a “twinkle in his eyes” about how McGonogall told him about the tea leaves incident and how Trelawney said he “positively fled when Trelawney offered to crystal gaze for him.” It ties so well into how he’s “polite” to their faces but has no problem shit talking them behind their back.

I know, isn't he wonderful? Love a shit talking polite lad. But yes, great catch and I'll add another little detail to what you said. Trelawney points out at the Christmas dinner that she tried to offer Lupin to look at his future. 'He positively fled when I offered to crystal gaze for him...' Now Harry is under the impression that Lupin is frightened of crystal balls, given his Boggart turns into an 'orb', so this kind of checks out. But we know the real reason Lupin is running away from Trelawney, he is hiding too much and she will spill the beans on his little secrets. But I love the idea of Lupin trying to politely decline Trelawney's offer, the same way I politely decline pamphlets from people trying to sell miracle hand creams to me. "No no, I'm quite alright, no thank you, had it done last week," Lupin said making sure not to stop walking.

[thecat-isblogging-blog]

thanku for your answer! i am reading Home for Christmas & i am in awe of the control of your prose. Entirely diff tone from Toys in the Attic! Another director's commentary q: can you tell me your thought process for Gelert the Hound being mistaken for Sirius? Just a chapter before, there is also specific emphasis on him "certainly not like Sirius" and this line of "you made that clear, didn't you Padfoot?" i am fascinated by how you are characterising them - here & in Toys!

Thank you so much anon! Home for Christmas was my first long fic, I did a lot of discovery writing as I went with it. But I wanted it to show the loneliness Remus faces when he goes 'home', not only as an awkward teenager leaving friends behind, but also as a young werewolf having to tip-toe around his parents (and vice versa).

I'd like to link @shes-a-gryffindor's fic that gives some heart breaking insight into this as well: https://thethreebroomsticksficfest.tumblr.com/post/671355958899998720/title-windows-chapter-one-author

Gelert the Hound was something I stumbled over when I was doing some research on Wales. A complete happy accident and when I found out about the story behind this memorial, I had to link it to Remus. Follow this link to get the whole story! The Legend of Gelert the Dog How to add more to Remus' pain am I right? I think a lot of us when we were kids had that one creepy thing we didn't like walking past. Maybe it was a room middle of the night when you needed the toilet, maybe it was an abandoned house you had to walk past from your way to school. For me it was a creepy porcelain doll my mother had (it haunted my dreams until my mom finally gave it away.) Whenever I had to walk past it, I'd run. Well for Remus, the statue of Gelert is this very childlike fear, this wolf killer, its lifeless eyes always watching. But at the same time, I could almost feel the loneliness of that feeling when a whole town celebrates the very same hound that haunts you. This started to make me think, how does Lupin feel about Sirius after the prank? Mistrust can often feel like fear. And Sirius, although having his own problems, is very much admired at Hogwarts. Technically, I imagine the Werewolf prank has already happened (might be out of the canon timeline). In this fic, Remus has some residual anger towards Sirius. Anger and fear he isn't really letting himself feel because that means it becomes difficult to be Padfoot's friend. And Remus without his friends is a very dark thought for him (a bit of foreshadowing). He would rather suffocate his own anger and bitterness than not have friends. Which is also where Lupin's problematic loyalty comes in, at what cost does his loyalty come to? But him supressing these emotions soon become intrusive thoughts, as thoughts we don't want to feel often become, so in his worst moments Remus slips and feels the resentment. The line:

"...you made that clear, didn't you Padfoot?"

Is a harsh thought, something he probably wishes he could tell Sirius to make him truly feel the guilt. But Remus could never bring himself to do it. He both hates himself for not being able to but then also for not letting it go.

He's just full of inner battles this lad <3

The theme of resentment keeps escalating in the fic until he chooses the 'devil he knows' over the pretend play with his parents. Though by the end, pretend play is almost over with his father as well.

In the end, I don't believe Remus kept that bitterness for Sirius much longer. Yes it resurfaced when news of Sirius' imprisonment reached him. But the way they embrace like brothers in PoA shows me that Remus is far from holding the anger - he is tired and broken and just happy to have Sirius back. To have a friend again.

Toys in the Attic is the maze Sirius and Lupin face with dealing with their grief. Grief is what brings them closer, it's what keeps them fighting. Home for Christmas was a deeper look into Remus when he wasn't sure about how he fits in the world, there was still hope, maybe even thought he could have his own family one day. But with the years of loneliness, in Toys in the Attic we have a Remus that knows full well where he fits in the world, there's no delusions of grandeur happening.

Thank you so much anon! These have been fun to do