GOOD OLD FASHIONED LOVER BOYS | marauders band au | wolfstar

thirty nine: the prettiest star

songs mentioned in this chapter: 
the prettiest star ~ by david bowie
god save the queen ~ sex pistols

3rd November 1985

Remus Lupin awoke to the sound of the postman dropping something through the letter box, the sharp clang of it closing and waking him from his slumber.

He rolled over, rubbing his eyes and blinking in the darkness of his small bedroom.

With a sigh, he rolled over to look at the alarm clock on his bedside table. It was half past seven. 

Heaving himself out of his bed, Remus made his way through his small flat to the front door where the post had been dropped. On the doorstep was a brown envelope with his name and address printed on it. Bills. The only other thing was a copy of the local newspaper.

Remus shoved the brown envelope on the small table by the front door before taking the newspaper into the kitchen with him as he made himself his usual morning cup of tea and toast.

The weather looked cool outside, and a fog clung to the windows of his apartment. He had learnt by now to ignore the pain in his chest when things as simple as the fog reminded him of the Scottish mists that would settle over Hogwarts in the winter weathers. He didn't need that. Just push it away and move on. Focus on things that don't bring back memories. He told himself.

It had been four years since James and Lily had died. Four years since Peter had died. Four years since Marlene had died. Four years Sirius had been locked up in Azkaban.

Remus closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as pushed the thoughts away, just as the kettle made a humming sound, signifying that the water was boiled. 

Remus busied himself making his cup of tea. Mug, teabag, water, remove teabag, milk, sugar, stir.

Once his tea and toast was ready, Remus moved over to the sofa that sat just behind his oven in his small flat. He hadn't been able to afford much. Since the war had ended, Remus hadn't quite been able to bring himself to go back to the wizarding world and so had shut himself off from everything he had known. His mother had died long ago, before the war had even taken full swing, and Lyall had died during the war too. Remus occasionally called Mary to check in on her and see how she was doing, but usually the pain was too great and he could never quite bring himself to see her. She was the only thing he had left tying him to Hogwarts and the memories of his friends and their school days and the band and the war.

Remus took a sip of his tea as he flipped through the local magazine. This was his life now. Quietly minding his own business in his little flat that he paid for with his small job at the library down in the town centre a short train ride away. 

As Remus flipped through the magazine, an advert caught his eye. It was just for the small pub down the road, He knew it had new owners and they were trying to do it up a little. Maybe he would go there after work today. He could use a drink. This week of the year was always the hardest, and today was one of the reasons why. Remus didn't like to think about how Sirius was spending his birthday, but Remus was going to spend it drowning his sorrows in his drink, like he did every year. Just like he did on the 31st of October every year, which had been only three days prior. This week of the year also usually resulted in a few too many awful hangovers.

Remus sat for the next half an hour flipping through the rest of the newspaper as he sipped his tea, before finally going into his small bedroom to pull on a loose cardigan and a shirt with a pair of corduroy trousers, quickly picking up his keys and soft duffle coat before leaving the house.

The train station wasn't far away, just a couple of minutes down the road, but Remus was still grateful for his coat against the biting cold.

The train station was deserted at this hour, and Remus quietly stepped onto the train when it arrived, finding a seat at the end of one of the carriages by the window, watching the trees and fields whizz by as the train surged forward to Cardiff central.