Chapter 1
Remus was starting his last year in a new school: Hogwarts. For him, changing schools wasn't nothing new, always because of her mother´s job. In the last three years, he had already been to six different schools. In some of those schools he even had made great friends, but none with whom contact has been maintained since then. None except one, Lily Evans.
Remus has known Lily since they were toddlers. When Remus was twelve, his father died and he had to move to the other side of the country to live with his grandma. He never wanted to leave, but his mother needed to be far away from the place where her husband died.
At first, he hated his mother. He was leaving the place where his friends were and where he grew up, plus, he loved his grandma, but he couldn't bear the thought of living in the ugly flat with only three windows that she had in the ugly town that she lived in. Lily used to send letters to Remus every week, letters that Remus waited impatiently for, this being the only type of connection to the town he used to live in. The letters, with time, stopped arriving, until a month ago an instagram solicitude from a ginger girl appeared on his phone. Remus immediately accepted it and a few minutes later a message came in. The message was something like this:
“Hi! It has been a while, hope you're doing well :) A friend of mine told me that she knew a boy named Remus was coming to our school next semester so I really hoped it was you. It occurred to me that you might have social media so when my friend told me i looked for you and, here we are.
Please tell me that is true that you are coming to Hogwarts :((”
Remus was really happy to hear about Lily, besides now he wasn't as nervous as before about coming back. He answered as fast as when he accepted her solicitude. They will be seeing each other on the first day of school
Now, he could understand why his mother wanted to move from there.
Here, Remus, was watching how furniture moved from the truck and disappeared inside the house, a house that wasn´t the one in which he grew in, but one that has really similar features and in fact was very close to the old one, almost in the same street.
His mother was trying to get a big box by herself and Remus ran to help her.
“Thanks honey, could you take that to the living room”
Remus left the box in the middle of the living room and went out again to keep helping.
When he exited the house he found his mother having a chat with this girl with hair red as the sunset. They were both smiling and his mother left her position of arms in the shape of a vase to give the girl a hug. Hope was a woman in her fifties almost sixties, she has brown hair with gray flashes that went down to her shoulders. There were also her round glasses and her clothes that haven't changed since the 70's. Her face gestures that have always been soft, even the wrinkles that grew around her eyes when she smiled and her green like olive eyes that for a long time were sad, now glinted with emotion.
She noticed the presence of Remus and stopped hugging the girl to wipe away her “almost” tears.
“Oh, darling…”
The girl, whose back was facing Remus, turned around to seek him.
“Remus!” The redhead exclaimed and ran to also hug Remus.
Now, Remus was a very educated boy, but he really needed to know who the girl that was so happily greeting them was. He took a step back and looked at her face. In front of him there was a girl with freckles scattered all over her face, a smile too kind for her own good, beautiful emerald green eyes and in general a face that could only be defined as lovely.
"Lily?"
The girls nodded.
Jesus christ, he arrived nearly an hour ago and he couldn't stop getting emotional since he came.
"Lily heard we were arriving today and came to say hello" Hope explained. “Oh my god, I can't stop remembering when you kids played in our garden, when you were really little you even had baths together, of course you were really little now i guess it'll be really awkward." She kept talking. "Remus even kept a doll you left once, you know, when you both played with the Barbies at the-"
"Mum, why don't I keep getting some boxes and you make tea for the three of us?" Remus intervened.
"Good idea honey, I'll leave you two alone some time so you can catch up and call when it is done." Hope said, running off to the kitchen before leaving a kiss on Remus' cheek.
"I'm sorry she can get a little bit too much when she is excited."
"It's okay." Lily smiled. "It's great remembering how we played Barbies in your garden because I forced you."
Remus laughed a little.
"You didn't force me, I actually enjoy it."
Now was time for Lily to laugh.
"I know you didn't like to be Ken."Lily responded.
"Well that is because being Ken is shit." Remus said while picking another box full of things.
Lily also helped with other boxes and shared other memories as they put all the things from the truck to inside the house.
"And do you remember when you broke all of those pots of Ms. Sprouts garden with a ball?"
How could Remus not remember that woman was scary when it came to her garden. Wonder if she still lives around here.
"Tea is ready!" Hope shouted from the kitchen.
"Oh," Lily exclaimed "I forgot I have to be at home early today to prepare some things for tomorrow."
"Ok, don't worry I'll tell my mom you have to go." Remus said, kind of sad now that his old friend had to go.
"Thanks, Remus, It has been great to see you and your mom, I'll see you tomorrow at school tomorrow, right?"
"Right."
Remus was really nervous to start school. He always is. At least tomorrow he'll already know someone.
He said goodbye to Lily with a much less uncomfortable hug and went to the kitchen to have that tea with his mother.
Being here was less hard knowing Lily was going to be there for him if he needed it, like she always has been.
In any case, as he already knew It would happen, he couldn't help but keep awake that night thinking of thousands of imaginary scenarios in which he forgot to speak. At one point in the night when he finally managed to sleep, he dreamed that he was going to class naked.
Remus only could think that if there was any god, divinity or deity that, pretty pretty please they would let him have a normal and peaceful last year.
ººº
It was the beginning of September and the weather was really nice, something that Remus was really grateful about taking it as a good presage. When he arrived at his school, which was in fact a very big and old building, he just thought about how he was going to be lost all day. Before getting more bad ideas, Lily came out of nowhere and grabbed him by the arm.
"This is so exciting!" she beamed "You and me, going to school together again. I can wait until I show you every place and introduce you to my friends."
Remus didn't say anything. He, to say the least, was terrified. He hopes Lily's enthusiasm rubs off on him.
At the same time near them, another new student was really lost and looking for help.
"Excuse me, I'm new and I was wondering if you could help me."
"Sure," the other boy said." I'm Peter." He extended one arm to shake it with the first boy.
He shakes Peter's hand with enthusiasm.
"I'm Potter, James Potter."
"Oh, we are using last name too, in that case you can call me Pettigrew." Peter said, trying to copy the boy.
"Peter Pettigrew."
James smiled and there was a short silence in which neither of them said anything.
"Come, i'll show you around."
Peter started showing James the school, but not only that, he also talked about who he must and mustn't sit next to at lunch time, who to stay away from, why nobody used the bathroom on the floor…
"Basically, talking with me was your very first right decision here." Peter said, finishing his speech about how to always get chocolate pudding at the cafeteria before it finishes.
James has been quiet for an awfully long time and when Peter turns to look at him he discovers that he was, in fact, not listening to anything he was saying. He was lost in his thoughts and looking to a girl who was just some meters away.
"Eh…James?"
James finally reacted.
"Who is that girl?"James' gaze was dreamy and he looked a little bit dumb.
"Oh no, no" Peter shook his head in disapproval "She is Lily Evans, she is our age. She is president of the student committee, also the French one and she is the founder of the environmental club. She is also in the debate club. I tell you mate, she will eat you alive."
"Lily, huh?" he said, ignoring Peter completely.