The Farm

July 23rd 1976

As the sun shone over the wide countryside, Remus ran a stray hand through his brown curls, which shimmered in the sunlight.

The gentle breeze felt refreshing against his face, as he undid his top button, and fanned himself with his hand. The July heat was getting a little tedious, and although Remus enjoyed the summer, he was rather excited to be back in Autumn.

He examined the usual landscape; rolling hills, the occasional tractor or field of cows, and farmland for miles and miles. He pulled his knees closer to his chest, fiddling the corduroy material of his trousers.

It had been a quiet, idyllic summer, and Remus had enjoyed some private studying and reading in his bedroom. But it hadn’t been the same without the marauders. He had felt very lonely indeed, and was impatient for their arrival.

His parents, Hope and Lyall, had been preparing the house for the next few weeks.

The tidiness took a lot of getting used to; Remus and his siblings usually dumped things in various places, no one seeming to take much notice to the mess. Although Remus was more organised than most people he knew, the home’s chaos was comforting. At least his room was pristine, never a single piece of clothing on the floor.

I wonder what we will get up to, Remus thought, God I want to hug Sirius tighter than ever. I miss him. Remus thought about Sirius’s smooth, pale skin, their deep grey eyes, and that Sirius Black grin. Just the thought of hugging Sirius made him want to cry out with joy. Remus really was in love; madly in love.

Suddenly his daydream was interrupted by a sharp crack of apparition. Remus’s stomach lurched with excitement as two fifteen year olds, slim and athletic, came rushing towards him, grinning. Mr Potter stood behind them, smiling brightly. They weren’t old enough to apparate alone, so Mr Potter, James’s father, had to accompany them.

“Moony!” Sirius yelled. Remus leapt to his feet.

They all hugged very tightly, until James pulled them both to the floor and began piling onto them both, in some kind of wrestle move.

“Get off me, you wanker!” Remus called out, laughing. James climbed onto Sirius.

“Moony! Save me!” Padfoot put a dramatic hand to their forehead, like an old woman about to faint.

“I’m taking your darling Padfoot away, Moony!” James joked, pulling Sirius away.

“Move it, Prongs!” Remus snorted, rolling over and grabbing Sirius.

“Hi, Pad-“ Remus was cut off by a violent kiss. He could practically feel electricity in his veins, that blissful feeling whenever he was near Sirius. He couldn’t explain his love for him; he was just magic. Sirius had long, black curls that framed their face and sharp jawline. Their twinkling grey eyes, and that grin, oh that grin, made Remus feel on top of the world. He placed a hand onto Sirius’s rosy cheek and felt his smooth, soft skin. Heart pumping. Knees trembling. Utter joy. They finally both pulled away, admiring each other for a moment.

“You’re- just gorgeous.” Padfoot grinned, before pulling Remus in for another kiss.

“Alright, alright; don’t make me third-wheel for the next three weeks.” James interrupted, chuckling nervously. They all silently stared out to the open fields, Sirius and James particularly admiring the lush countryside.

“Godric, the farm is just fantastic!” James broke the silence, taken aback by his surroundings. “I want to explore every inch of it, plus, Padfoot had some pranks in mind for September.”

James cast a mischievous glance towards Sirius, who couldn’t stop beaming.

“Come on! Let’s get inside and have a feast. Plus, you’ve still got Finn and Darla to meet; both absolute pricks, I will warn you.” Remus remarked, before pushing open the heavy front door of the farmhouse, kicking off his shoes in the cluttered mudroom, James and Sirius following suit.

The sun filtered in from the large bay window, framed with pretty floral-patterned curtains.

The mudroom was brimming with many pairs of shoes, various broomsticks and pieces of quidditch gear, as well as lots of hats and coats and bags, some even dumped on the carpet. They all strolled into the kitchen, examining the farmhouse.

A fairly tall, slim lady was stood in the kitchen, cooking what appeared to be new potatoes. She had lovely brown eyes, the colour of chocolate, her skin dark and tanned, and her auburn hair tied back into a neat bun. She wore a patchwork apron, covered in various stains and spills, and had a kindly smile. James felt himself warming to her immediately.

“Ah, this must be Sirius and James! Goodness, Remus hasn’t stopped talking about you both. Come in, food’s on the dining table, your belongings are all upstairs.” Mrs Lupin greeted them warmly.

She made them both feel at home at once. Remus felt overjoyed; he could now spend a relaxing few weeks with his friends, hoping to take a mind off of his schoolwork for a little while. Things really were just better with James, the confident, sporty troublemaker, and Sirius, the black sheep of the Black Family, the sharp-tongued, hilarious Sirius, who also happened to be Remus’s partner. Life was perfect just then; Remus didn’t want anything to change.

***

The next hour or so was spent munching on a huge selection of food; Remus’s mother really had cooked up a feast. Hot pork sandwiches, delicious and fresh, new potatoes, salad, cherry trifle and a huge selection of cakes and biscuits. James, as usual, was ravenous, so he was grateful for the sheer amount of food before him. They chatted for a while longer about the school year snd their plans for the next few weeks. Once they were pleasantly stuffed, they headed upstairs so Sirius and James could unload their trunks.

“We’ll be in my room, as there’s three beds in there.” Remus told them as they trudged upstairs, and stumbled across the landing, until he opened a door to a big, willowy room, cool yet cosy.

The walls were painted a sage green, with shelves and shelves of books, David Bowie and The Beatles posters everywhere, a huge, cream-coloured wardrobe, and a guitar propped up in one corner of the room. In one corner of the room sat a stack of magazines, about all of Remus’s favourite musicians. A bedside table next to one of the beds was cluttered with multiple healing and sleeping droughts, presumably for after one of Remus’s werewolf episodes, as well as newspaper clippings and a little green alarm clock. A soft rug of a crescent moon covered the hardwood flooring.

“Dibs the bed closest to Moony!” Sirius yelled, diving onto one of the beds and laughing.

James claimed the other bed, and found his trunk near the wardrobe, before lifting it onto his bed and unlocking it.

“Bought any good sweets?” Remus asked inquisitively, craning his neck to take a peek inside James’s trunk.

“Oh, yes; cauldron cakes, every-flavour beans, chocolate frogs, fudge flies, fizzing whizzbees - the lot.” James grinned, pulling out bags and bags of sweets. Sirius cheered,

“Fair play, Potter!” before grabbing a chocolate frog, tearing open the box.“It’s another Dumbledore card. Anyone want it?” they asked carelessly, before chucking it over to Remus.

The sun cast a dreamy glow over the bedroom, dust particles like tiny pixies in the sun’s rays. The window looked out to the woodland behind the farmhouse. Tall, birch trees towered almost as tall as the house, and all could be seen was simply miles and miles of picturesque, sunny countryside. Remus pulled open the windows, before grabbing a chocolate frog for himself, and joining them on the carpet. They talked for a while, about their planned pranks on Snape, the Quidditch team, the completion of The Marauders’ Map and James seemed to ramble on and on about Lily.

“Could Lily not make it, then?” Sirius enquired, before popping a fudge fly into their mouth.

“Nah. She was going on holiday or something, and had some studying to do.” James sighed, playing with his hair. Sirius rolled their eyes.

“Typical.” they snorted.

“Oi! She’s just busy. It’s fine though, I can deal with you lot for now.” James said sarcastically, and Remus chuckled.

“Tosser.” Sirius chucked a cushion at James, who deflected it, and launched it right back at him.

“Should we meet Finn and Darla then? Let’s go and explore.” James asked, after a while of tossing the pillow back and forth.

“Again, I’m reminding you that Finn is a massive bighead, and Darla’s very boring and generally just a bit of a dickhead, so don’t be surprised.” Remus reminded them, rolling his eyes.

“Can’t be that bad,” Sirius laughed. “After all, I’ve had to live with Reggie my whole life.”

They all got to their feet, and ran downstairs, before shoving their shoes on and heading outside.
“They should both be in the woods, or in the fields somewhere. Finn’s always trying to climb the trees, so he’s bound to be there somewhere.” Remus told them, as they all staggered down the slope.