Remus Lupin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lumenrelegandus) wrote2021-01-16 10:56 pm
lumenrelegandus) wrote2021-01-16 10:56 pm
Entry tags:
for lancifolium
The little town was barely on most maps. It was rustic—quaint even for muggles. The roads were scarcely auto-worthy and you got the impression they liked it that way. Almost everyone had their own vegetable gardens, in addition to the surrounding farmland, and everywhere was walking distance from everywhere else. All showed a real love of this place. They seemed to consider it blessed. There were hints in their conversation, that they themselves would be unable to identify, that this was more than a feeling. Something was truly Charmed, here.
At one end of town, the dirt roads gave way to paved ones, to eventually connect up with the modern world. At the other end was a gentle hill with a tree on top, picture-perfect as a place to sit and read or gaze out at the village. What she was looking for would be on the other side.
Sure enough, with the hill between it and the village, still in the clear before the start of the woodlands, and set back from the… hardly road, here just a path—was a little one-storey house. Its colour was hard to tell anymore. The paint was so discoloured and the plants so overgrown. They climbed up the walls and windowsills and curved delicately around gutters. The lawn was completely covered in flowering weeds. It seemed that no one could be living here. But the sense the house gave was not of haunting or desertion. Rather, it seemed pleasantly like nature had moved back in. The family of birds under the eave, squirrels in the small tree, and rabbits in the overflowed garden seemed to agree. They gave the impression—unusual to their species—of feeling entirely safe.
But if you looked closely, you'd notice that the roof was in good repair, the windows were all intact, and the front door was clear of plants. Closer still, the doorknob was shiny from touch.
This must be the place.
At one end of town, the dirt roads gave way to paved ones, to eventually connect up with the modern world. At the other end was a gentle hill with a tree on top, picture-perfect as a place to sit and read or gaze out at the village. What she was looking for would be on the other side.
Sure enough, with the hill between it and the village, still in the clear before the start of the woodlands, and set back from the… hardly road, here just a path—was a little one-storey house. Its colour was hard to tell anymore. The paint was so discoloured and the plants so overgrown. They climbed up the walls and windowsills and curved delicately around gutters. The lawn was completely covered in flowering weeds. It seemed that no one could be living here. But the sense the house gave was not of haunting or desertion. Rather, it seemed pleasantly like nature had moved back in. The family of birds under the eave, squirrels in the small tree, and rabbits in the overflowed garden seemed to agree. They gave the impression—unusual to their species—of feeling entirely safe.
But if you looked closely, you'd notice that the roof was in good repair, the windows were all intact, and the front door was clear of plants. Closer still, the doorknob was shiny from touch.
This must be the place.
no subject
That he was so touched and emotional about this turn of events wasn't lost on Lily, nor could she blame him for it. He had made choices that would shift the course of the life he'd been living quickly, and up until hours ago, he thought she was dead. Now he was coming to join her, and Harry in the cottage Minerva had been gracious enough to let them reside in after James' death.
It was a place she thought was quite cozy, close enough to the school to feel safer than anywhere else, and just the right size to raise a small child like Harry in. In truth, Lily was excited about the prospect of getting to share it with Remus. He had been on his own for such a long time when he didn't have to be. She was glad they had the chance to make up for lost time, however slightly.
Taking his hand they winked out of sight, popping back into existence just at the front step of the small cottage, where she released Remus's hand in order to unlock the front door and show him inside.
no subject
Remus walked where she led him, looking at everything as if still seeking the telltale that this wasn't real.
He felt a little like he was following James's ghost. Not replacing him… he couldn't if he wanted to.
…Did he want to…? Like just about everyone had, Remus had loved Lily when they were at school. …And always, really. But he'd taken it in the opposite direction to some and just made sure to support her and James all the more.
Well, thank goodness it wasn't solely up to him. He was too confused to know anything, much less what he might want. As if what he wanted had ever had very much impact on what happened. Right now, that was just fine. He'd keep following her lead.
In any case. Having her alive, and his friend. That was the only essential in the world. Anything else, he was fine with or (much more likely) without. As long as he could be here for her and Harry in any capacity.
"How long have you lived here?"
no subject
"It's McGonagall's," Lily continued brightly after a moment, bouncing Harry on her hip as she led Remus into the kitchen, gently depositing her son in his highchair before kissing the top of Harry's head. "It's perfect really, close enough to Hogwarts that I feel very safe living here by myself, though," tilting her head at Remus Lily smiled warmly. "I suppose while you're staying here that won't be much of a worry." Crossing the room Lily moved her wand, a baby bottle assembling itself and filling with milk as she put the kettle on.
"Would you like a cup of tea? I expect our sovereign lord here to be ready for bed after a bottle and I know I certainly could do with a cup. I can show you your room once he's settled in and get your bed made." Lily had not expected to bring Remus back with her, but she was delighted by the unexpected turn her search for him had taken. It had been too long since she had a friend.