I intentionally waste food to please my absent parent
Now a sensible person would respond with why would you say something like that or anything along those lines questioning why a kid about 11-12 would want their mother sacrificed. Now Remus was not sensible so instead
“You look like Lady Stardust” Ladies and gentlemen, how to make an idiot out of yourself.
“Now I’m not sure who that is but they sound cool so I’ll take it” they replied and grinned so wide the star looked like they shined out of his lips.
“It’s David Bowie’s song I reckoned everyone knows. You were on the beach earlier laughing at a guy forcing someone into the water who clearly didn’t wanna go in. Who are you?” he started blabbering then settled on the obvious question. At that clearly-not-Lady-Stardust laughed an annoying sweet laughter that took his whole body in and resulted with their black curls flying about.
“Sirius Black. Hades cabin, and considering I live here and its 40 degrees obviously I was on the beach. And those two you saw were my two siblings, well siblings as it gets, if you technically wanna get into the whole olympian family bloodline it’d get way too weird and complicated but James, guy forcing someone into the water is an Apollo kid but we’re close enough to have me call him my brother especially because his mortal parents basically raise me when we’re not here and then the kid he ushered is my all type of meaning sister Vega, siblings by mortal parents and she’s Hades cabin as well. You are unclaimed as I reckon and came last night and have very cool scars so I assume you’re the new kid with the lycanthropy?”
And Remus thought he was blabbering. But on a second thought he found Sirius’s blabbering wasn’t annoying just a bit unexpected which first brought him to a halt then as he processed the information he couldn’t help but smile.
“Well the new kid with the lycanthropy has a name, and before I tell you I fuse all hope you’re not one of those latin speaking kids”
“I am” Sirius cut in. And of fucking course they are.
“That’s just fucking great then. I’m Remus Lupin.” At that Sirius smiled but didn’t laugh like Frank did. So far, Remus decided he likes this person. Then just before silence could settle in around them the guy, James as Remus recalled draped an arm around Sirius and started leading them towards the fire.
“Glad to see you socialising Pads and you’re more than welcomed to continue but I’d like to start eating and that’s not gonna happen before you sacrifice so please get your and your friend’s asses moving.” Sirius started and gave a side look at Remus with a grin.
“We sacrifice a piece of our food to our godly parents because they supposedly love the smell, not eachother. Seeing you’re unclaimed you’re to sacrifice to them all and then if you’d like join us at the Hades table?” At that Remus found he would like to.
Dinner goes a bit something like this: you burn a fraction of your meal to the gods (which had Remus known earlier he would’ve helped himself to more) and when that burning happens, it turns out it doesn’t smell burnt food at all but becomes an actually pleasant smell which makes Remus a bit less concerned about the gods and what they like.
After that happens, Dumbledore gives a toast and they all day a prayer to all the gods and specifically their parents as well.And then. And only then can you move to a friend’s table and start eating.
Which is the exact moment he goes searching for the Hades table and sits down next to the strange little group from the beach. James has an arm around (as Remus guesses) Vega’s shoulders as he’s eating and the latter seems to be burning up from blushes thanks to the contact and chats with a huge grin on his face with Sirius, and as Remus looks, James being an Apollo kid makes the most sense in this world because James looks to shine as bright as the Sun itself.
However. Sirius being Hades’s child doesn’t make a lot of sense to Remus. Sirius seems to be bright and happy just the same, only that their shine looks more silver than golden, more like a star than the sun. There’s nothing about them to suggest they’d be connected to death, the dead, dreams or anything under this ground because someone as bright as Sirius needs to be seen and it would be a crime to hide him under there.
“Oi Remus!” James calls as he sees him approach and even though he’s not yet had an actual conversation with the guy, Remus finds he likes him a lot already. He gives a smile and a nod to greet them then sits down next to Sirius.
“Okay so I asked James if he knows who David Bowie and that Stardust kid but he does not either so you’ll have to either explain to us or we collectively will believe you are seeing non existent people.” Sirius jumped into conversation as soon as Remus sank to the seat.
“Well Bowie is one of the greatest singers of basically all the time. My mum and dad – or well the people I believed were my mum and dad right now I don’t know whom is whom- own a bookstore which also sells records and I was allowed to bring my own records there or sometimes when I really liked one from there they’d let me keep it and I could listen to it while I read in their corner. They spent a lot of time in the shop and I did as well, I basically lived there every afternoon. So anyway, he plays rock music and he dresses so cool and makes up personas to his albums and there’s no one else like him.” He started, very glad to be asked about his special interest.
“And I look like him?”
“No you look like his song Lady Stardust it’s a song on his best album The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. How have you not heard about him anyway? He’s like very fucking popular, it’s like you telling me you don’t know Freddie Mercury or The beatles.”
“Well about that-“
“Youdontknowwhofreddiemercuryis??” he asked taken aback,because were these people living under a rock? Well definitely not rock because they did not know the very basics. Seriously, it’s like walking the streets of London and not noticing the huge ass clock tower that Big Ben is.
“Well Veggie and my parents’ didn’t approve of rock music and we were forced to a dreadful education of classical music and playing piano. So that really stayed out of my life but I’m eager to learn.”
“For the contrary I do know all those artists and been trying to get these two to listen but Vega here actually loves that music and Sirius resents music because of their parents”
“Okay I don’t even know where to start replying here so why do you call your sister something parents say you need to eat? How can you hate music like okay not classical music but there’s so many other genres I can’t believe there’s not one you’d like and James? I never thought I’d need to feel pride that someone knows something so popular as those performers but right I am very very proud of you for that thing.” Now listen,Remus understands hating things out if spite, or hating them because you’ve been forced to do it for too long, like how he’s had to study Shakespeare so much he came to hate him,but music? Music is such a complex language,it could speak when words failed, it can make you said,drag you up when you’ve hit something low, a melody could make you blood flow just a bit nicer,warm your heart like none else and then the beautiful poetry of the words it includes were not even mentioned. At first he was kind of pissed at Sirius for not knowing music, for not listening to it, but now he just feels sorry for them,because they’re missing out on a lot-
“Well why thank you. Although I have to admit I’m more a Fleetwood Mac/ Stevie Nicks fan myself. And back to the other matter, it’s not veggie as in vegetables with a ‘dg’ sound, it’s Veggie with two ‘g’s sounding like it does when you say get or something.” Well that’s still awfully stupid Remus thought,but did not say so because when making friends you probably should not start with ridiculing their names.
“ I do have to mention I hate that nickname” Not Vedgie-but-Veggie said who apparently (for obvious reasons) prefers to be called their full name. Remus also realizes it was the first time Vega said a word
“Sirius,I know we don’t know eachother well,but please stop torturing your sister for gods’s sake” at that Sirius gave a whole hearted laugh and turned his full attention on Remus’s face.
“I would actually love it if you’d show me those musics you’ve talked about.” For a moment they locked eyes. A moment that felt like forever yet like it barely happened at all at the same time. A moment when his brown eyes locked into blue, and he felt like a branch of tree floating in the clear and untouched blue spring of Sirius’s eyes.
“Now him you let show you music! What’s so special about him I can’t offer?!” James asked fake and actual jealousy blending in his voice making both of them look in his direction.
“Oh don’t worry James,you know you’re still my only one!” Remus looked at Vega in that moment,not really understanding the situation of the two conversing like an old married couple over them, only to see her mouth the words ‘run’ at him,which resulted in a chuckle from him.
“I am so very tough! Vega tell him!”
“You’re really not.”
“What?! Rubbish I really am, give me a reason why I’m not tough like Remus.”
“Cool scars.” Sirius cut in.
“Maybe I just wear my scars inside my heart”
“James you’re spending your 10th minute on trying to prove you are tough. And besides. You cried when you thought you lost your stuffed animal.” Vega reasoned and Remus sat back enjoying the three bicker. It was actually sweet how James tried proving he was tough as he put it,and Remus had no doubt that if he wanted to, James could kick his ass, but also, you did not need to know him for very long to see that James would rather let you kick his ass before he’d even retort something mean.
“I was young!”
“James you were 10 and you still check to see if it’s with you.”
“And you named him Hugsie”
“When you were also 10. And Sirius got it for you from an amusement park.”
“A man can have a soft spot for his toys without it making him any less tough.”
“A man can, but you’re but a child Potter and would be at 25 as well.” A fourth voice said and when Remus looked up he saw the bat looking guy from last night looking at James and Sirius with huge disgust.