Reading Between The Lines ~ Remus Lupin ~ Book 1

chapter 22

Thursday, 23 December 1976

"Lena," Lisa called. "There's a letter for you."

"Thank, Mum," Lena said, taking the envelope from her mothers hands and running up to her room. Flopping on her bed, Lena tore the envelope open and unfolding the letter. It took Lena longer to read it than she expected as it was in cursive, not print. Cursive did not help with her dyslexia in the slightest.

Lena sighed. For the most powerful wizard in the world, he could be absolutely bloody useless sometimes.

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Saturday, 25 December 1976

"This one's yours Lena," Tim Pettigrew said, passing her a gift wrapped in green.

Currently, the Pettigrew clan were gathered in the living room separating presents into various piles. Lisa's parents had opted to spend Christmas day with their son, his children, and his in-laws. As Lisa was a Muggle-born, her parents and brother often found large magical gatherings a bit overwhelming. For that reason, Peter and Lena weren't very close to their maternal cousins. Truth be told, though, they weren't particularly close to their paternal cousins either. As Mark was an only child, Lena and Peter only had second cousins on his side of the family. To add to it, Lena and Peter were much younger than their second cousins and never really developed a close bond. It didn't matter that much to Lena and Peter, though. They had each other.

Along with the rest of her family, Lena started opening her gifts. Her parents had gotten her a set of earrings and Peter gave her a few gag gifts. She received heaps of clothing. She wondered if the makeup kit and book Makeup and How to Apply it for All Occasions from her Aunt Denise was a hint that she needed to improve her look. Her cousin Ritchie had purchased her a book. He most definitely forgot that she was dyslexic. From her friends, Lena got lots of decorative knick knacks, gifts related to inside jokes, piles of sweets, as well as a few records.

Lena's heart swelled a bit as she saw the gift Remus sent her. She took off the wrapping paper and opened the Yule themed box. She pulled out a set of charcoal pencils and a new sketchbook. Lena smiled. She needed a new sketchbook. Lena placed the items back into the box and pulled out a cream envelope that looked like it was about to burst open. Lena opened it and pulled a bracelet and letter. She examined the bracelet and smiled. It didn't look particularly expensive but she liked all the charms on it. She wondered if Remus had picked most of the charms randomly or not. Not all of them seemed that significant. There was a sun, an L, a paintbrush, a flower, a mountain, a pot that resembled the one found at the end of the rainbow with the initials CC etched into it, and a wolf. Lena held the bracelet in her hand as she read his note.

Lena smiled as slipped the charm bracelet onto her wrist. She couldn't believe Remus had remembered her mentioning she needed to buy a new sketchbook as she only had a few spare pages left. She hadn't even been talking to him when she mentioned it. And the bracelet was just so thoughtful. He knows me so well, better than I know myself, Lena thought. She neatly tucked the letter into the box. It was something she'd want to keep forever.

"Why are you blushing, Lee?" Peter teased. "Secret admirer?"

"No, I'm just happy."

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"Who's that from, Rem?" Hope asked her son as held a present wrapped neatly in white wrapping paper. Remus didn't have to read the sender's name on the gift to know who it was from. The white wrapping paper had doodles and designs of Christmas decorations all over it in different colored markers.

"Lena," he replied.

"Oh, that girl who likes you."

"Dad!"

"Sorry, son. That girl that you like."

"Dad!"

Remus was already teased by his Welsh cousins for being half English. He did not need to be teased for having a crush on a girl who didn't see him as more than a friend.

He carefully took off the wrapping paper and neatly folded it and placed it in the box. He didn't want to destroy anything she made.

Remus peered into the box. She had gotten him an assortment of chocolates and a rather exquisite set of golden feathered quills. Remus pulled out an old copy of The Hobbit out of the box. He thought it was a bit strange that Lena would give him a book that she knew he already owned. But then again, maybe she had forgotten about the times they spent together talking about the book.

Remus opened it and read the inscription.

REMUS,

Remus smiled. He was sure that Lena had no idea how much her words affected him. He couldn't believe she compared him to one of the things she treasured most and gave him that possession. He ran his fingers over her handwriting. It must have taken her ages to write that, he thought. There wasn't a single spelling mistake.

Remus flipped through Lena's copy— his copy now— of The Hobbit. He saw a few tea and teardrop stains here and there. Remus could spot a few colored paint marks in the shape of Lena's fingerprints. She had written little notes in the margins. She noted how relatable some of the characters were emotionally, what scenes she loved, what scenes broke her heart. Remus couldn't help but smile at Lena's drawings. He loved seeing how her mind worked and what she thought the characters and particular moments looked like. This book was essentially an extension of Lena. He'd make sure to take care of it.

Remus gingerly put the book back in the box and pulled out Lena's final gift. She had drawn a portrait of him. It was based on one of the photos they had taken when they went to the Cauldron Coven concert. He looked so happy in the portrait. His eyes were alive and there was no worry on his face. Remus liked how Lena saw him.

"See, Hope. I told you he liked Lena. Look how much he's blushing."

"Dad!"

"Oh, leave the boy alone, Lyall."