Rediscovering The Stars

Chapter 3

November 12th 1981

The first semester of university had worn Remus down to his bare bones, pulling every ounce of energy from his body and wrapping it up with too much studying for one person. Luckily, Tonks had stuck to him like glue since their first meeting in September, rambling on about her own experience throughout high school and about her family life.

Tonks' mother had been cast out of the Black family when she had Nymphadora at sixteen with her now husband. Tonks still had contact with her uncle, Remus came to find out she referred to Canis as cousin rather than uncle due to them being so close in age (Tonks being twenty whereas Canis and Remus came in at twenty two). He found himself growing fond of the girl over the time he'd got to know her.

He still missed Canis. He couldn't deny. They'd spent two years together as boyfriends and one as fiancés, from the beginning of their sixth year up until Remus received his letter of acceptance. They'd broken up on bad terms after a lengthy fight where both had said things they regretted. Quietly, Remus sighed at the memory of them in their apartment kitchen, arguing loudly over why Canis couldn't just be happy for him and the man responding that he wouldn't be happy unless Remus stayed. The brunette had packed that afternoon, spending the rest of his time left in England with his mother, away from Canis and their shared apartment. On his day of departure, he'd hoped to see the ebony haired man at the train station with the rest of their friends to see him off. But Canis Black never showed up.

The tapping on his bedroom door jumped him out of his thoughts. He steadied himself before standing from his chair and opening his door, brightening slightly when his gaze settled on short and chubby Peter Pettigrew, his most recent friend and housemate in his apartment complex, clutching two coffee cups and a brown paper bag, no doubt stocked with sugary treats from the nearby bakery. Peter shoved the cups into Remus's sweater-clad chest, gripped the bag between his buck teeth and rustled around in his satchel before yanking out a very badly crumpled up paper that Remus recognized as the sheet Peter had shown him several days before that used to be  Peter's homework for his chemistry classes. The brunet sighed and lead the blond boy over to his desk, pulling up an extra chair he kept at hand in case one of his friends needed tutoring.

He always was the one they'd come to for tutoring, no matter the subject. Remus himself was studying literature, yet he remained skilled at several other subjects, such as music, sciences and mathematics. Peter studied chemistry and usually found himself in quite the predicament, sitting for hours at his own desk halfway to having a full blown mental breakdown right in the middle of his bedroom. as such, Remus usually found himself sitting beside the poor sod and explaining the difference between intermolecular forces and covalent or ionic bonding. He'd grown used to it so it never affected him much anymore.

This time though, he was snatched from his train of thought by the aforementioned man poking him in the ribs,
"Remus!" the man jumped and turned his attention back to Pettigrew, "Finally. Thought you'd died in that mind of yours." Remus shrugged tiredly, looking down at the halfway finished revision sheet for Peter's upcoming quiz.
"Sorry, I've been a little lost in thought." Peter nodded understandingly and laid a reassuring hand on the brunet's shoulder.
"Don't worry bout it, mate. I was just wondering what it was you were thinking about."

Truthfully, Remus had once again been caught mooning and moping over his life back in England, his old friends, family, and not to mention him. Remus groaned and held his head in his hands, twisting his thumbs into his temples in an attempt to rid himself of the reoccurring thoughts of what could have been if he'd just stayed back in London with Canis. It drove him mad,
"Honestly?" Peter nodded, "I'm still thinking if coming here was worth it. I left everybody I knew behind, Pete. My family, friends. Everyone." He knew Peter would listen. Peter had left his own home in London back in the spring of 1977, a year before Remus himself, finishing up his own high school experience at an american school instead of an English one.

"I get it, man." he mumbled, mouth still stuffed with the remnants of what looked to be one of the custard filled doughnuts he'd arrived home with, "Leaving is hard, especially if there are people you care about back home. Or a partner." Remus grunted, covering his head with his hands. It was a well known fact between him, Peter, Tonks, Fleur and the rest of their little group that Remus had previously been engaged to Canis Black, Tonks' uncle.
"Yeah yeah. You heard what we said to each other, Pete. He probably doesn't even remember I exist at this point." He muttered, his words muffled by the thick sleeves of his brown cardigan. Pete snorted around another mouthful of doughnut and raised an eyebrow at the heartbroken, sappy sod in front of him,
"That was, what, three or four years ago? He's probably forgotten about your argument and wants to see you again." Remus hummed, "Maybe you could go back home this year instead of moping around campus again like you have for almost the past quinquennial."

Looking up from his arms, Remus sighed and watched Peter's face light up like a Christmas tree,
"You'll come back to England with me this year?" Remus huffed a laugh at his friend's excitement, "Oh this is fab! I'll tell Nymph- Tonks right away, she's going to be ecstatic you're joining us, you know." He nodded and smiled,
"Yeah. I know."