Chapter 9
When Lily imagined Remus Lupin’s house and family, she thought they would be in the middle of a quaint town. A townhouse filled with soft beige and crisp linens. His mother would be a quiet but a pristine hostess and his father would be stoic and tall. They would listen to nothing but piano and dine on shiny white porcelain.
She didn’t know why. Every time she saw him in the halls of school, he was put together. All buttons done up properly, his tie perfectly pleated. A perfect Prefect, her mind provided. Next to him, James and Sirius looked like two delinquents Remus gathered up in hopes of turning them around while they had a chance.
But now, standing in front of what was arguably the cutest cottage she had ever seen or even imagined in the green countryside of Wales, she conceded that it suited him better.
The cottage was tall but not towering, just enough to show that there was indeed a second floor, but nothing that had the vaulted ceilings her now silly imagination provided before. The thatch roof was hugged by moss and the windows caressed by vines that crept from the damp soil beneath. The garden was full and inviting with a promise of a hidden adventure all contained in the wooden fence that ran along the property line. The door was a cute faded teal, making it pop out from the brown and green surrounding it. Everything about this home was welcoming and just lovely. And Lily loved it immensely already.
Her father opened the gate, the little bell she hadn’t seen before singing out crystal clear, and led them to the door. Before they could knock, it opened and revealed a woman that Lily knew was the happiest woman in the world. Her freckled face carried a soft smile that looked so natural and genuine that it made Lily smile too. She wore a linen dress with an apron tied around her middle and had her frizzled hair done up in a scarf. She was beautiful in a way that could never bought.
“Oh hello, hello! Welcome to the Lupin cottage Evans family.” Her voice carried a welsh accent, making Lily wonder if Remus had an accent as well. She never paid that much attention to him, but wanted to know more with every new piece of his life discovered. “Come in, come in. The boys are in the kitchen, and my husband is in the sitting room.” She beckoned them all in, Lily’s parents saying their greetings and introductions as Petunia nodded politely, but uninterested already. Lily however, was taken away by the inside.
It was just as lovely as the outside. Every space on the walls were packed with Knick knacks and pictures of the Lupin family. Mrs. Lupin had them hang their coats on a rack made of old door knobs, and their shoes were put in flower pots that were stacked perfectly in a ladder!
“I love your home.” She whispered. The woman giggled in delight.
“Oh my, thank you very much. When we moved in, I wanted to fill it with everything that made us happy. It ended up like this, all over the place with things.” She waved her hand around the hallway she led them down.
“Oh but it’s so lovely! I feel like I could look forever and still find something new.” Lily’s mother commented, much to the near horror of her father. He was always the more orderly of the two, liking everything to have a place and look just neat.
“Thank you so much, it really feels good to know my home is so welcoming.” Mrs. Lupin said it with so much joy that Lily could almost feel her own chest tighten with the feeling. She led them into a kitchen, where her mother gasped at the stove as quietly as she could, nudging her father to see the cast iron.
“Lyall is over there on his couch. Honey, you don’t have to pretend to read the paper. Lily goes to Hogwarts, you’re fine.” Lily peeked around her father to see a very tall and blonde version of Remus sitting on a yellow velvet couch, looking part relieved and part exasperated, putting an old newspaper away. The adults migrated into the sitting room, making introductions and handshakes. Petunia sniffed before moving to join them, taking a seat on a brown chaise in a manner that reminded Lily of a bird trying to sit in a nest.
She looked back into the kitchen where she stood. Remus was there, at a small table in the middle, smiling gently at her. He gestured for her to come and sit by him. Smiling back, she did just that. A small clatter near the sink drew her attention once she sat herself down.
There, silhouetted by the window, was a tall and lean boy. His dark, fluffy hair was pulled into a loose knot at the base of his hair. He had his cream colored sleeves rolled up to his elbows, protecting them from the water in the sink. He stretched to put away some plates in the cabinet just above. She looked back to Remus who was looking between her and the boy.
“How have you been, Remus? I think this is the first time you and I have had an actual conversation.” She heard the plates clatter, but waited for Remus to talk first.
“Oh, I’ve been alright. Had some days where I wasn’t feeling so well, but I’m doing better.” He smiled. It was the kind of smile that hinted at mischief, but a harmless kind. Lily nodded, looking a bit confused. “Are you excited to see Severus after a while?”
“Oh yes! I was dreadfully worried about him. He’s never really done anything so rash like run off from home before. I hope nothing horrible happened to him before he found you.”
“Nothing happened. I simply got onto a bus and went to London before having the oddly timed meeting of the entire Lupin family.” Severus’s voice, which had really become deep as they got older, appeared next to her. Lily looked over to see…well. It could have been Severus, honestly. Those dark eyes were the same, same as the dark circles around them. The jaw line was the same, still sharp. But everything else was almost different.
“Sev! Your hair! It’s so fluffy now!” She reached out and wove her fingers in, giving the locks a shake. “Oooo so soft. Look, look! Your freckles! They only come out in the fall at school before winter sets in! Now they’re out in the summer time!” A look of exasperation was on Severus’s face, but he said nothing as she continued to pet him like a dog.
She was so happy to see him, safe and sound, that Lily stood from her stool and wrapped her arms around him. Only to gasp in shock, “Sev!”
“What!” He copied the shocked tone.
“You’ve gained weight.” She whispered, “You’re getting healthy.”
And it was true. He was still so wiry, like a willow tree, but she could see the beginnings of muscle and fat creep int his figure. The more she stared at him, the more she could see the differences.
And to think that it was only two weeks of a change.
“Godric and Jesus, Lily. Just announce it to the Ministry, will you?”
Lily felt her face grow hot, “I should! I know you’ve tried to brush it off for years, but you and I both know that living in that house was-mmpf!”
Severus’s hands clapped over her mouth faster than she could avoid. The vice grip didn’t hurt, but it was hard to shake off. “Lily come sit outside, they have a sunroom that I think you’ll enjoy.” The words were said just loud enough to carry into the sitting room, and she knew that he was trying to prevent questions about his household, like he always did.
Struggling against his hands, Lily was led to the sliding doors before she managed to step on his foot hard enough to make him hiss and wrench her face free. “Remus, you should join us! Tell us all about your garden.”
Remus, who had been sitting quietly this entire time, looked wary. “Uhm, its probably best I don’t. The sunroom is Severus’s place now and-“
“Remus, don’t be daft. This is your house, so let’s go. Or is there any other unoriginal excuse you need to think of?” Severus cut him off immediately as he opened the door.
“Ah no. No other excuses.” Lily watched as Remus seemed to unfold himself from the table, as if he was meticulously trying to make himself seem smaller than his body would allow.
Her observation of Remus Lupin had to wait however as Severus pulled her into the Sunroom, leaving it open for Remus. Once they were inside, he lent down and began to whisper.
“Lily, I do NOT want them to know anything about Spinner’s End. Especially Hope.” He kept glancing over towards the sitting room as if merely speaking her name would summon Remus’s mother.
“Severus, that house was horrible to you. Don’t try to deny it, you know I know it was bad. And I didn’t help matters by not speaking up!” Every word was whispered, but she was getting more and more passionate. He tried to brush it off, but she wouldn’t allow it. It was only after Remus came in and close the door that she really started in.
“Which brings me to another thing, Severus T. Snape. What in the absolute hell were you thinking? Running off to London? When I live three streets away? What is the matter with you! You could have been kidnapped or murdered or taken advantage of!”
“Technically all three of those things have just about happened to me, so I think I can handle it.” He sneered.
“Oh no! No you don’t, you are not slinking your way out of this with snide remarks and a glare this time. I’m completely serious, Severus. What were you thinking!” Lily was so caught up that she nearly missed the way Remus flinched at Severus’s words. One issue at a time Lily. You’ve been pulled all around since you got into this house and you’ve only been here for maybe half an hour.
Severus, however, didn’t miss it. His eyes flashed over to the boy before moving back to Lily. “I was thinking that I needed to leave before I was carted against my will out of the British Isles and into what would probably be my immediate death!”
“Severus, moving would not have killed you. It would have been hard and you would do what ever you could to leave as soon as you could, but you would not have died form it.”
“I never said it was the move that would kill me.” He muttered, looking away from both her and Remus. Wretched fear gripped Lily at the implication, but Severus was an expert at moving away from himself in conversation. “Besides, it worked out for the better, I think. Hope is really nice, and I find that the countryside has it’s charm.”
He turned away and walked to a table, fiddling with some things. The silence that followed was so heavy, Lily felt her shoulders sag.
“How has your school work been, Lily? I know I’m not nearby to help with Potions, but I know you still have the notes I gave you before school let out.” He still wasn’t looking at her.
“Sev-“
“We’re not trying to rush and fix things, Severus. We know that all of these things take time.” Remus’s voice carried in a way that reminded Lily of wind in a cave. It was far away, but you heard it clear all the same. “What happened to you was wrong, and we know you know that. I think that Lily is just overwhelmed with the rush of information she’s gotten. Both known and newly confirmed. That’s all.”
Lily found herself nodding furiously when Severus glanced over. “That’s all, I swear! You’re my best friend and I care about you a lot, so when I see you hurt I just-“
“I get it, Lily.” Though his voice told her otherwise, “It’s…I understand and I’m wanting to talk about it with you, but I’m not ready. Not yet.”
Very well. She thought. If Severus wanted to hold off, then she could wait. Her acceptance seemed to make him relax by a lot.
Lily only wished she felt the same calm come over her.