Remus spent most of his time in the village during the first few days of the Christmas holidays. The markets were open and the shops were decorated with lights, each one with a Christmas tree outside. The streets were lined with tinsel and someone had even hung random baubles on the branches of the trees. It was cold, but pleasant. Remus loved walking around the village, seeing everyone chatting to each other, their breath misting around them and their cheeks bright red from the biting wind. Remus stopped off in the café for a hot chocolate and a brief conversation with Mrs Bethan, or as brief as a conversation with her could be, which meant that he left the shop about half an hour later. Mrs Bethan had been the most vocal in sympathising with Remus after his mother's death, and while he was tired of hearing her anxious clucking, he did enjoy the free muffins she gave him, so he didn't complain. She became even more generous during the Christmas period, and provided him with a loaf of bread and some Yorkshire puddings. He thanked her, and went on his way. The whole village had naturally heard of Hope's death, and since Christmas was a so-called time of giving, Remus didn't even have to spend as much money as he thought he'd have to for food and decorations. The only thing he had to buy himself was the turkey and the Christmas tree. His neighbours offered him free vegetables and more Christmas puddings than he could carry, and they all helped him to carry the tree back up to his house. Luckily for him, he'd recently helped his dad clear the house up until it looked brand spanking new, so he didn't have to hide it from the neighbours when they helped to put up the tree.
Another bonus was that Remus didn't have to admit to his father about the money he'd been earning for the sake of them both, because he could pass off all the food as simply offerings from friendly neighbours, and he knew his dad couldn't turn it all down. His innate politeness always won out in the end. In fact, his dad looked quite taken aback by how much the neighbours had contributed, and Remus swore he saw his dad slightly tearing up before he managed to compose himself. Lyall couldn't thank them all enough.
"You know, I always had my reservations about muggles," said Lyall, once the neighbours had said goodbye and wished them a Merry Christmas. "But they're a decent lot, aren't they?"
"They are." Remus helped to put all the food away and to decorate the house with the decorations they stored away each year, which Lyall had been reluctant to open up. They were too much of a reminder of Hope, and Remus himself was wary of all the memories that would come with decorating. But there was nothing sadder than an empty Christmas tree, so he convinced his dad to take the boxes of lights and baubles down from the attic.
They spent the evening going through the box, and it actually wasn't as bad as Remus thought it would be. It was sad, yes, and difficult to think about the fact that his mum wasn't there with them to help, but at least he and his dad could share anecdotes together, and reminisce about their memories with her. Like the angel that he and his mum made out of paper when Remus was six and they didn't have a star to put on the tree. The angel wasn't very good, it was all scrunched up and the paper ball head had fallen off, but it was still able to be placed on top of the tree, and Remus did so, using it instead of the plastic star they had eventually bought years later. There were also the ornate baubles made of glass that were so pretty that Remus had never been allowed to touch them without intense supervision. This was the first year he got to put them up himself, and he made sure he didn't drop a single one.
Lyall was in charge of the lights, because he tended to use magic instead which naturally made it look more spectacular, although Hope always liked to use some muggle lights, especially on the tree. Remus put the lights on the tree while Lyall charmed all the candles in the house to float around and never blow out, the same charm that was placed on the candles at Hogwarts.
When they finally finished, and the fire was roaring away in the fireplace and Remus had switched the TV on to whichever channel was playing Christmas music videos, the house felt almost back to normal. For the first time in a while, it felt lively and homely and happy. Lyall put the radio on in the kitchen just to add even more noise and he made them both a cup of tea.
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Boys Will Be Bugs
Fanfiction[REUPLOAD] Remus Lupin has more than one secret, and there's no way of knowing who he can trust. All he has are his parents, but they can't protect him when he goes off to Hogwarts. But then Remus meets a boy and his two other friends, and soon real...
