The beginning
Thursday 8th July, 1971
Flat 10c, Balornock, Glasgow.
Dear Mr Remus J. Lupin
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours Sincerely
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Remus had read the letter so many times that the words would be burned into his head when he closed his eyes. He just couldn’t believe it, a… someone with his condition, accepted at Hogwarts.
He’d been expecting to learn everything to do with magic off of his Dad, but that idea was chucked out the window when Lyall had died. Remus doubted he would’ve taught him much either way. Dad refused to do anything more than a healing charm after a bad night.
The letter was beginning to fray at the edges from constant hands on it, whether it was him or his Mum that had caused more damage he didn’t know. Remus had only received the letter two days ago and neither of them seemed to be calming down anytime soon.
Remus just had too many questions reeling through his mind, and he thinks his Mum does too. Their biggest question was a simple, one-word question.
How?
Some guy called Dumbledore, who Remus now realised was the headmaster as he finally came to read the smaller details of the letter, was coming to explain the details of what his arrangement was to be at Hogwarts.
But first he had to get through tonight.
Remus had never really had a break, not at least that he could remember. He never had quite as much energy as his peers at school. For example, Steven MacDonald. Remus’ pal from the flat directly below him. Steven had the energy of someone who was in the middle of a four-day bender. No matter what time it was, no matter how early or late, he was bouncing off the walls with energy. Give him an energy drink and Remus reckons he would burst.
Remus had never had that type of energy. That’s a lie, he had, always the day of a full moon. However it wasn’t the same type of energy, he was twitchy and couldn’t sit still at all. He was easily irritated and snapped at other people often. He felt like a creaky old man the rest of the time.
“Remus John Lupin! If you’re not through here in the next two minutes ready to go, you’re not going anywhere near that school!”
He was snapped from his thoughts and found himself scrambling around, realising that he had about half an hour until the full moon was visible.
”It’s a bit late for that, isn’t Glasgow near where Hogwarts is? Swear it’s in Scotland somewhere.” Remus answered.
”Oh shut up and hurry up.” His mums slight welsh accent filled the hall of the flat, echoing off the chocolate brown walls. What he wouldn’t do for a curly wurly right now, he didn’t think there was anything.
”Right, right am coming.” Remus muttered, clambering through his stuff to find the key. Why hadn’t he just gave it to his mum when she’d asked him to?
”FUCKING HURRY UP!” Her accent was becoming more prominent now, she was getting anxious. He didn’t flinch at the volume, there was no anger behind it, just concern. No wonder, she hadn’t had to deal with the aftermath until Lyall had died.
The key was in his jacket pocket the whole time, typical.
And they took off down the stairs to head out to the silver-plated shed, courtesy of a fundraiser disguised as helping a sick boy with a vague condition. Not exactly the truth but not a lie either.
What people don’t know won’t hurt them. Remus thinks.
Luckily, the shed had some sort of noise blockage his Dad had put on the shed. It was a spell actually, muffliato, whatever it done worked as no one had complained about a particularly loud dog since the first time they’d heard.
However the shed was far from nice, and Remus was used to things not being that nice. With the flat being practically neglected as his Mum was hit by a depressive state after the Ibrox disaster in January, Remus had pretty much been left to his own recourses until very recently. Hope had only just recovered and he was not wanting to disturb this peace by complaining.
So he unlocked the door, took a deep breath, and buried whatever complaints he would usually be throwing around by now. Stepping in and hearing a quick click behind him before being lost to the tearing of muscles and the snapping of bones. The last he remembers is a pained howl, and Remus can’t tell if it’s his own pained shrieks or the howl of a trapped creature.
||
Friday 9th July
As his bones snapped and returned to their natural state, Remus couldn’t help but think of how much better it would be if he had a werewolf friend. Someone who understood the struggle he went through every month and could at least treat him normally.
But that thought didn’t last long, because there was a red pool on the floor. Oh shit that’s blood. Where was he bleeding from? His mum unlocked the shed door and rushed in with a first aid kit in one hand and the key in the other. Remus was losing a lot of blood, maybe he would die before getting to meet another werewolf. Ah well, he thought, maybe I wouldn’t have even met one anyway.
”You’re not dying, Jesus Christ and I thought I was the dramatic one.” His mother’s soothing voice rang through his ears. He must have been speaking his thoughts. She bandaged his chest. Oh, that’s where the bloods coming from. A small frown was plastered on her face.
She sat back up after a minute, and they just looked at each other.
Remus didn’t look much like his mum, the only thing he really inherited from her was his eye colour. They both had hazel eyes with gold flecks but that was about it. He was the spit of his Dad when he was Remus’ age. Thin, mousy brown hair, and a tan that had to be from someone with ancestors from somewhere that wasn’t Scotland. His father had been a bit shorter than he was now but their features were the same, the hooked nose and skinniness were their most connecting features.
Whereas him mum had thick and curly black hair and was so pale that she had developed the nickname Snow White on her Dads’ side. She was the same height as Remus, maybe an inch taller at most. She had always been told she could be a model, yet she was never confident enough to go for it. By the time she’s gained a bit of confidence it was too late, she was past her early twenties.
“Are you okay to walk?” His mum asks, her voice too small for the loud woman he knows.
”Aye, I’ll be fine. Just need a minute though.” He whispered back. He didn’t know why he whispered, there was no one else around to keep quiet for, but it just seemed wrong to do anything else.
Finally, he slowly made his way up. With the help of his Mum of course. She had to pretty much carry him back up the ten flights of stairs. He felt so pathetic, he just wanted his bed.
Of course, fate had other plans so his bed would have to wait because there was a man with a white beard that was scraping the floor, wearing strange clothing and half-moon glasses standing in front of the door to get in.
I just want my bed.
There is a tense silence that fills the hall. His Mum is the one to break it.
”Ah, are you Albus Dumbledore?”
“That’s me.” He pushes the glasses up his nose to reveal large sky-blue eyes.
“May I come in?” He asks
”Yes, Yes, Of course. Come on in.” She unlocks the door and signals for him to go in before her. He nods appreciatively and strolls in, one hand holding his other wrist behind his back. A posture that reminds Remus of his Dad.
Dumbledore takes in the small hallway, and Remus starts shifting uncomfortably. Worried that if he stayed thinking for too long, that he would take back his offer for Remus to have a place in his school. Realising that maybe Remus didn’t belong. He dismissed this thought soon after it arrived, it’s not as if he could just rescind his invitation as if it was a party. This was a school.
They stand there for another awkward minute and Remus is just waiting for an opportunity to slink away, sleep peacefully and not be interrupted. But he doesn’t usually get what he wants, so he prepares for what he thinks is going to be the most miserable time of his whole life.
He may turn into a deadly monster and change body completely, but nothing compared to socialising with people he just couldn’t be bothered with.
He could tell already, that Albus Dumbledore was going to be one of those people.
”Can you just hurry up and get on with what you came to talk about.”
The words left his mouth and by then it was too late to stop what he was about to say, so he juts his chin out slightly to make it seem he had no regrets.
”Remus!” His Mum shouts at him, but he just doesn’t really care right now.
”Oh no it’s quite alright, I understand you’ve just came out from a horrible, horrible experience. I wouldn’t imagine you to be any less than… irritated, that I’m here.” Dumbledore calmly stated, pausing slightly to think of the right word to describe how Remus was feeling.
Irritated wasn’t the exact right word, he was more exhausted than anything else. He would be more than ready for pleasantries and manners and all that if he’d had some rest before being thrown into a conversation with his future headmaster, but Dumbledore chose first thing in the morning. It was his choice, he can deal with the consequence of a tired pre-teen that’s just been cut open a few hours prior.
”Aye, so can you please hurry up Dumbledore?” All patience left had evaporated.
Hope tutted behind him, Remus could feel the look of anger on the back of his head without even needing to look back. She muttered into his ear, “It’s Professor Dumbledore Remus, have some sort of respesct.”
As some sort of petty rebellion, Remus vowed to himself to call ‘Professor Dumbledore’ just Dumbledore at every moment he could until the day he died. Though that probably wouldn’t be that long, one of these days he’d end up dying from either something stupid like blowing himself up at a magic school or mauling himself so bad he can’t wake up after transforming.
Dumbledore turned left into their small living room, there was enough room for four people to comfortably sit in it. He glided towards the brown leather couch, inspected it for a second and sat down. The couch creaked slightly while he shuffled around to get more comfortable, it seemed strange to see a teacher doing something like that. Unprofessional almost, mostly because he’d never actually met this guy before and he was getting comfortable in his usual seat.
”I would sit down, we might end up talking for longer that expected.”
And so they sat. Him and his mother both got comfortable, bringing their feet up to the same position. They were in sync, because they were both slightly uncomfortable and unsure. It made them a united front, in Remus’ head anyway. They were feeling the same way, even if they tried not to show it, it was there.
“So,” his mother started, “What do you begin with?” Her voice sounded less confident than usual, her accent hidden. She usually done that whenever anyone brought up something that upset her. Did magic upset her? Was it because his father was also magic? No, surely not, she’s been happy for him and congratulating him for getting into Hogwarts.“Just like your father!” He recalled her saying when he’d told her the news. She was beamed with joy when she’d said it.
Remus nodded in agreement with her question, where will he begin?
”Well, I will start with saying I’m sorry for the lost of your Husband and Father.” That was the last thing Remus was expecting him to start with. He didn’t even know that anyone in the ‘Wizarding World’ knew of his family, nevermind the death of his Dad.
“Then I will get to the topic that you both want to talk about, what are you going to do about the full moons?”
“No way!” Remus faked surprise “I thought we were going to talk about today’s weather! Really nice out today, isn’t it?”
His Mum buried her face in her hands with a mix of embarrassment and exhaustion. Remus knew he was going a bit overboard with the cheek, but he was really getting fed up now.
Dumbledore just chuckled, Remus wished now that he had the same patience as the man in front of him. Remus would have gone ballistic by now.
”As I was about to say before, I have had a tree planted on the Hogwarts grounds that will contain secret passage leading to your hiding place. Our mediwitch, Poppy Pomfrey, will take you to this tree every Full Moon with Professor McGonogall, who is the only one that can access the passage with her animagus form.”
That just left Remus with more questions than he had started with. He’d only had one. Now he had at least four for every sentence the man had spoken.
Remus felt as if his head was going to explode from all the information and was already on the brink of a migraine, so instead of thinking of a response, he just stared at the dust particles dancing in the rising sun. The morning rays took a golden orange colour and shone brighter than Remus had ever seen them.
He was pulled from his thoughts when Dumbledore kept talking. Oh my God there’s more? Remus felt defeated at this point, he was going to be kept prisoner by this man until he was begging for sleep.
”You will be brought back to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey can attend to any injuries that occur during the night and can provide you with potions for-“
”Potions?” Remus interrupted, he didn’t realise that potions existed. He’d never seen his Dad use them, even before he was… bitten. “Int those just in films on the telly?”
Dumbledore smiled as if he was looking at a lost child, which he pretty much was because Remus had no idea how he was going to survive with wizards if he didn’t even know that they used potions.
”Remus, potions exist. It’s one of your courses at Hogwarts. I’m surprised you didn’t know this as I thought your Father would teach you some things about us wizards, no?”
Remus felt anger boiling in him, simmering, just waiting for the heat to go to max so it can boil over and out. How dare he assume things about his family? He didn’t actually know anything about it, and the way that he was looking at his mother as if she’d done something wrong!
“Naw, he didn’t, and I don’t know why that’s really your business so can we get back to the topic we all actually want to talk about?” Remus was so close to fully snapping at the old man, he didn’t want to but it wasn’t something he could help most of the time.
”Of course Mr Lupin, Madam Pomfrey will provide potions for any medical or sleeping aid you may need. She can also tell you to take the day off if she thinks that necessary. Other than that there isn’t really much we need to discuss.” He finished off with a small smile and pushed his glasses up his nose again, he might need to consider getting a smaller frame if they’re really falling down his nose that much.
His Mum spoke for the first time since Dumbledore had been in their living room, “Actually, Professor there is something I need to talk to you about. Privately.”
She looked pointedly at Remus. This was the first he’d fully looked at her, her eyes were brimmed with tears and were redder than he’d ever seen them. Maybe her hay fever had gotten worse this year because there was no way that was just from tears.
Dumbledore said goodbye to Remus, shaking his hand and patting a hand on his back. Talking about how he’ll see him on September first and that he has great potential. Something he probably said to most students anyway because what would make Remus have “great potential”? Sure.
And so Dumbledore left with Hope, locking the door behind them. Remus could hear their hushed whispers but could only make out a few words if he really strained himself.
He could sense the magic at the door, it was the same spell his father had put on the shed but this one was weaker. It was still allowing sound through. He heard a few of his Mothers words like “…Money”, “Platform” and “Alley…” but he couldn’t hear Dumbledore.
He wouldn’t admit to his Mum that he had some idea of what she was talking about with him, he knew they had hardly any money and that school supplies would be expensive. There was no surprise there.
He reckoned that she was asking for second-hand or some help. The former was the most likely, his Mum hated asking people for money. She flat out refused to do it. If someone somehow managed to convince her to take it, she would pay them back with interest as soon as she could. His Gran was the only person to convince her, he thinks that’s why they don’t go down to her house as much anymore.
A click of the door indicated that Mum was back in and he could finally rest for the whole day. He could finally go to bed and sleep.
He struggles to get up from the position he was in, his legs were stiff and going slightly numb but he eventually managed and stumbled through the hall. Before he could get into his room, he was stopped with a bone-crushing hug. That wasn’t what he was expecting. Remus was expecting a berating, a smack across the head, he’d even expected to get into a row with his mum. He hadn’t expected this.
”You need to promise me something Remus.” She whispered, sounding scared.
”Yeah?”
”Don’t let that world change you too much.”
So Remus promised, promised that he wouldn’t become someone different just because he was a wizard, he wouldn’t let the wizarding world shape him and he’d remain the same. He would look back at this day in the future, he would eventually forget how that hall looked and what exactly Dumbledore had said to him minutes earlier but he wouldn’t forget that promise. He tried hard to not really change, to keep that child-like hope that he could keep his Mum’s promise. But of course, change is inevitable.
||
Friday 21st August, 1971
Remus’ Summer had been anything but boring. He’d predicted that the lead up to a magical school would be boring, that the days would drag by with the countdown to the first of September. Of course, the opposite was true. Remus had always been terrible at predictions.
He suddenly felt himself grasping for more time with his friends. They only had this weekend left together before he left for Hogwarts, so that’s how he found himself sitting on his rusting bike waiting outside the gates of Colston Secondary School on a Friday at 4.25.
He found it strange how a few months ago he’d assumed this was where he’d spend the next few years of his life, learning shit he won’t use and being told what to do by teachers all the time. Remus was glad to be rid of that part of school soon enough.
He hears a faint ringing and students start trickling out of the multiple doors around the grey building. He searched for his friends among the sea of heads but couldn’t find them, until a voice shouted from behind him.
“REMUS!” More than a few heads turned as Remus whipped his head around and shouted back, “STEVEY!” then he spots his other friends, Leon Barclay and Conner Robertson, waving their arms like madmen next to him.
They ran towards eachother, Remus dragging his bike alongside him as it groaned from the quick acceleration. They reached eachother after pushing through a crowd of chattering students and a few tired teachers. The boys were in a round of laughter and punched shoulders before they get pushed through by a teacher that seemed to have had enough of her job.They all simultaneously pulled up two fingers at her before bursting into fits of laughter.
They spent the walk back to Steven’s flat shoving each other into gardens they passed by and getting chased by the owners of said gardens. Eventually they reached the bottom of the stairs in triple the time it took Remus to get to the school.
“Right,” Steve said in a serious tone “What’s the plan for tonight? It’s the last time with all four of us before our sweet Remus leaves for the higher ups of society!” He mocked a posh London accent while placing the back of his hand against his forehead.
”Shut up, I’ll probably be back about Christmas. I doubt I’ll be wanting to spend my holidays with a wank-stain like you!” Remus replies, grinning so wide his mouth was feeling strained.
”Oh okay I see how it is…” The other three know what’s coming before it even escapes Steve’s mouth. “It’s because I’m black isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is.” Remus deadpans as he dumps his bike to the ground and bolts up the stairs to get a head-start to escape the false wrath of his friend.
They eventually calm down and start trudging up the other eight flights of stairs until they reach the ninth floor.
“Fucking hell.” Leon sighs after bending over and taking deep breaths for a good few minutes.
”I know, how can yous two do that. I’d end up just sleeping on a landing instead of trudging up those every time I want to go home.” Conner, who was equally breathless, was looking the other two in disbelief.
”Or I’d just never bother leaving my house again.” Leon ran a hand through his blonde hair, that was now down to his elbows. The other boys had tried to convince him that he didn’t look like a hippie, but that he just looked like a girl. However, he hadn’t listened to them when it was at his shoulders so there he was with hair that he considered ‘trendy’ but just made him look stupid.
”It’s not that bad. You’re just not strong and healthy like Remus and I.” Steven pulled his shirt sleeves up and flexed his non-existent muscles.
”Wow! How attractive are those muscles, big macho man over here.” Conner suddenly got down to one knee in front of Steve, who was still posing like a magazine-cover-model, and put his hands in a position that looked like he was opening a ring box. “I, Conner Robertson, would like you to be my husband.”
They all burst out into rowdy laughter as Remus reached his hand out to Conner, who had lay down on the floor clutching his stomach from all the laughing. “Get… off… the floor… it’s manky as fuck!” He managed to get out between loud guffaws.
He pulled Conner up as Steve and Leon knocked on the door for twenty seconds before he heard the door unlocking and a loud sigh of someone who sounded resigned to their fate already. Remus looked up and seen that the other two were already headed inside so he quickly joined behind them and closed the heavy door behind him.
He took in the hall in front of him. He took in the mint green paint that was chipped from years of children running to other rooms, games that involved breaking multiple vases and shoes being flung off feet. The same floors as his flat that somehow felt warmer, more home-like. The memories that he carried and felt like he was abandoning. He would be back in Winter. He wasn’t abandoning anything so why did he feel as if he was betraying the MacDonald’s?
Because Remus practically grew up in this flat, despite having one of his own only the floor above. He’d spent more time in here than anywhere else, and Remus didn’t know how he would fair without his daily trips down a flight of stairs and just walking in as if he lived there.
He headed towards the bathroom at the back of the flat, he was desperate for a piss after drinking so much water this morning, but he was stopped in his track by Mary. Steven’s twin sister.
Remus and Mary had always gotten along like a house on fire, if fire represented both having a passion for every social aspect of Earth and bonding over that and the house was everyone that came in the way of their hours long talks about society. They had pretty much grown up together and always appreciated someone to talk to about things, though he’d never admit it to Steven unless he wanted an unrelenting beating, she was also very pretty. Anyone could see that though, and if they couldn’t her personality would instantly draw them in anyway.
”Oh hi Remus, feels like I’ve hardly seen you as much recently with Steven being back at school and you four going out until who knows when!” She smacked him lightly on the arm, reminding him of the grounding he’d gotten for a week for being out until two in the morning. In his defence, he doesn’t own a watch.
”Yeah I’ve missed our talks, no one else can keep a conversation like you do.”
”I know how you feel, all my friends want to talk about is how amazing it is being in S1, like they know that I’m not going to be there. Can’t they talk about anything else?”
Remus suddenly realises that Mary hadn’t been at school, and she was talking about not being in S1. What did she mean?
”Oh, you’re not going to Colston?” He pried.
”Nope.” She stated, popping the p at the end. “Going to another school, a private one. You wouldn’t have heard of it.”
That was such a coincidence, they were both going to go to other schools! He’d have someone to talk to, even if she couldn’t know all the details of his school because of some secrecy policy or something that his Mum told him about. Why would anyone want to keep magic a secret, the world would be so much better for everyone if they had access to it.
“No way, I’m going to a private school too. I bet you already knew though, Steven’s been a bit upset since I told him that I wasn’t going to be going to wreak havoc with him in classes.”
That was the understatement of the century, Steven’s face had literal tear marks down it when he found out. He would never admit to it but Remus knew the truth, poor Steve had been pacing up and down the road for half an hour before he finally spoke to Remus again. Even then, he would start trying to guilt him into staying by talking about how amazing it would be if their squad could cause riots and get the whole school involved.
”Yeah he did mention that, that’s actually the only reason you are all allowed in here at the same time. Remember last time you four got the police phoned by downstairs because they thought we were keeping seagulls in the flat. Seagulls Remus.”
He did remember, it was the funniest thing that had happened in the Summer. Except for maybe when he completely done in a third year, a full blown fourteen-year-old, when he was ‘joking’ about Steven’s family. But Mary didn’t need to know about that time.
”In my defence…” He gave thought to anything that might help his case but came up with nothing so he stayed silent.
”Thought so.” Mary smirked at him and put her hands on her hips. “How are you getting to your school?”
”I need to get the train from here all the way down to London just to go back up to the highlands. It’s going to be hell.” He was dreading the journey, he’d already had to nick a few purses and wallets to help pay for the ticket to London but was paranoid he would lose some money and not be able to go. All that build up for nothing, he wouldn’t let it happen.
Mary scanned her eyes over him, as if she was skimming over a paragraph of a book. “God, that’s quite the trek isn’t it?”
”Aye and there’s only one train to the school so if I miss it, I’m not going and I’m stuck in London.” He was starting to genuinely fear the first.
”You’ll be fine. I’m guessing I won’t be getting any sleep because of you four but please try not to wake up Angela. I don’t know how many ‘sister promises’ I can break before she gives up all hope in me.”
”I’ll try Mary, good luck with your school.”
”Good luck with yours.”
She walked past him into the kitchen, and he ran to the toilet. He’d been desperate the whole time but this might be his last chance to talk to Mary for a while so he wasn’t about to waste any of that time. He was gutted that he probably wouldn’t see Miss Macdonald, Yarona, as he’d be so busy after today getting prepared to leave and she was working a night shift then going straight to her second job. He would have wrote her a letter to say goodbye but it would no doubt get lost in the house somewhere.
So he didn’t write a letter, but he had a good time with his friends.
They tried not to have a repeat of last time, they really did. So of course this resulted in the opposite. They’d managed to sneak out without Mary or Angela hearing them. Thanks to Leon and his experience of having to stay quiet in Church, Steven knowing where made all the noises that would wake them up, Conner for bringing money with him and being the only one who was actually given money by his mum, Remus for coming up with the idea in the first place.
So they left with ease, and got the bus down to the town, where the off-license was. He knew that they would sell them, he’d heard two girls talking about how amazing their Halloween gaff was going to be this year because they could get as much booze as they wanted without getting someone to go in for them and giving a tip. So they bought a single bottle of Buckfast and drank a quarter each straight from the bottle.
Of course they weren’t subtle about it and not only got caught but also got drove back to Balornock in the back of a police van. They had been given a speach about how young they were, asking how they got the drink and about how dangerous it was for three eleven-year-old boys and a girl (the other three had been hysterically at Leon for the rest of the trip back, shouting “We told you so!” to the point that the police had began to ask if they were mentally sound) to be out drinking at three in the morning.
At least it was a cool story to tell people at his new school, they’d all think he was quite cool and maybe want to be his friend.
They’d somehow managed to convince the men that drove them home that they really were home alone and their Mum wouldn’t be home for quite a while so they let them go. Just like that.
”You… were shittin’ it” Conner pointed at Leon as he’d said it. He had been the most affected by the alcohol, slurring his words and randomly bursting out saying how ‘tonight is the best night of my life.’ And ‘We’re the coolest people I know’.
“Until th-“ hiccup “they called you a girl!” He started giggling to himself. The other boys just had a light buzz so it was their responsibility to look after Conner until he could at least be silent enough to get back in.
”Shh, we’re almost there. I’ll get killed if anyone finds out about tonight!” Steven whispers, sounding genuinely scared. No wonder, Yarona MacDonald was the scariest woman when angry. Remus did not want to be at the brunt of that anger.
Remus had became more thoughtful, like the drink had cleared his head a little but also made it a wee bit fuzzy. He would be onto something brilliant but then forget about it a few minutes later.
They managed to get back in, despite constantly having to cover Conners mouth and repeatedly getting bitten whenever they tried, they got back in. No one woken up, no one knowing about their ‘shenanigans’ as his Mum liked to describe their activities and especially no one know that they’d drank a bottle of Buckfast.
They got back to their make-shift bed on the floor using all the pillows they could find and every blanket from all four of their homes. It reminded him of when him and his Dad would make a den when he was still struggling to walk, it was one of his only memories he could remember before he was… bitten.
He subconsciously ran his finger over where the scar was through his top, it was at the top right of his chest, you could sometimes see it if his t-shirt had a wider neck. He’d stopped wearing those at seven when it had been pointed out.
They were lying down on the floor and sitting in comfortable and companionable silence. It was Remus who broke the silence.
”We won’t all stop being pals just because I’m leaving will we?” The worry has been at the back of Remus’ mind but had been brought to the front abruptly when he realised he wouldn’t actually spend time with their small group for months on end.
”Nah.” Steven replied “It’ll all be the same when you get back, I’ll just be more muscly than I already am.”
Leon snorted beside them “As if they could get any bigger Stevey, you’d burst.” Sarcasm so thick that it was practically dripping off his tongue.
Conner spoke next, bordering on too loud. “My muscly husband-to-be.” He sat up, after an embarrassing amount of attempts, rubbing his stubby fingers over his face as if to refreshed his already tired look. The bags under his eyes had become more prominent and his usually platinum-blonde hair was covered in dirt from a mix of lying on the floor and somehow getting the drink in his hair. It was a strange sight to see.
”Yous are a group of queers, I swear.” Remus snorted, the rest of the group started laughing muffled laughs. The type that only happened when you were staying at someone else’s house and had been shouted at to stay quiet.
Thats how they ended their night, lying on the floor and muffling their laughter. Remus’ jaw hurt from laughing all day, and his stomach too. He realised with a smile that this is the happiest he’s been since his Dad had died. Even before then. Sure he’d had moments of happiness but nothing like this. It was hope. Pure happiness and hope. He had hope for the future for the first time in his life, real hope, and it was a strange feeling.
So Remus basked in the feeling, letting the hope take up all his thoughts. His hope for the future, his future in magic. He also had hope for these friends that he was sure would be life-long. Most of all he had hope that things would get better.