Reading Between The Lines ~ Remus Lupin ~ Book 1

chapter 67

Saturday, 1 December 1979

Remus held her hand tightly.

Lena was silently crying.

It was a change from the loud sobbing over the past few days.

Both Remus and Lena were dressed in black as they sat in the church pews.

Although they were popular, Mr. and Mrs. Evans' funeral was a small affair. Petunia, Lily's sister, wanted to avoid any questions from the Muggle friends of the Evans people. The cover story had been a home invasion turned into double murder. Petunia and Lily couldn't exactly tell their parents' friends that witches and wizards existed and that the Mr. and Mrs. Evans had been killed by wizard supremacists. Only the Dursleys, the Potters, a few Members of the Order, and some of the Evans' neighbors, friends, and family had come. Remus observed Petunia's small baby bump. He doubted, as much as Lily hoped for it, that Petunia's baby would be friends with Lily and James' baby.

It's hard to overcome hate when it's taught to you from the second you are born.

Sirius was one of the few exceptions.

His brother Regulus hadn't been so lucky. He had always been under his parents thumb. He had died that way too. On the twenty-sixth of November to be exact. His father Orion had been so grief-stricken that he passed away.

Sirius hadn't gone to the funeral. He wasn't allowed to go, being a blood traitor and all. Remus knew he would've gone if he could have.

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Friday, 18 January 1980

"So how disgusting is this to you?" Sirius asked as he magically put the couch into place.

"On a scale from the time the Hippogriff farted in Care of Magical Creatures to when Sirius made the potion wrong and he had to wash his robes twenty times before the smelled normal," James clarified.

"I'm gonna say the time the Dungbomb exploded in our faces," Peter said as he unpacked the lamp.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Well I'm sorry that the thought of your sister and I moving in together disgusts you that much."

"I don't think it's the moving in together part that disgusts Wormtail mate. I think it's what you and Lena are going to do here."

Peter and Remus glared at Sirius while James snickered.

"How are you guys not done yet?" Gwen said, walking into the room with arms crossed. "Lena and I have already set up the bedroom and the kitchen. And Lily's nearly done with the bathroom."

"Because we specialized in procrastinating at school?" Sirius offered.

"You got that right," Gwen tutted.

Remus smiled as he looked around the room.
Everything seemed too good to be true. He was moving in with his girlfriend in a free apartment. The Potters owned a few wizarding apartment complexes to supplement their income. Not that they needed to of course. The Potters were one of the wealthiest wizarding families in Britain and had offered it to Remus for free. Remus had initially rejected it– four times to be exact.

Remus and Lena had finally given in though. They couldn't deny that the privacy would be nice and Remus would no longer have to sneak into her room at night. Of course, another draw the apartment had was that Remus and Lena could freely discuss Order business there and that they would not be putting their families at risk by staying at their childhood homes.

Remus smiled as he felt Lena's arm wrap around his body. He looked down at her and smiled. He was happy.

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Friday, 13 June 1980

"I have recently spoken with a seer, one Sybill Trelawney. I doubted her abilities until she was suddenly overtaken by a prophecy during our meeting. Her prophecy is one that foretells the fall of Voldemort," Dumbledore said, looking around the room at the faces of the Order members.

Relief flooded across the faces, even James', who had lost his parents in April and was still distraught. Everything was thinking the same thing– the war would be over soon.

"That's great news!" Sirius said, a shining grin on his handsome face. He'd do well in the Muggle world where there were movie stars and models.

"Yes, but I'm afraid this prophecy will affect some people here more than others," Dumbledore said. Smiles began to falter.

"The prophecy says that Voldemort's downfall shall be a child, a boy, born at the end of July," Dumbledore began. "The boy will be born to parents who have denied Voldemort twice. And Voldemort will mark the boy as his equal."

Lily let out a gasp and James grabbed her hand. Alice squeezed her eyes shut tightly and Frank put a soothing hand on her large bump.

"I am so very sorry," Dumbledore said as he looked at both the pregnant couples. "We will take every caution to protect your children."
Everyone prayed they would all be alright.

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Saturday, 5 August 1980

"Oh, they're so tiny!" Gwen said softly, briefly looking up from Neville and Harry to look at their parents.

"I know," Alice cooed. "And they're so sweet."

"Not so much at night," James said. "Harry refuses to sleep through the night."

Remus smiled. "Early days, Prongs, early days."

"Thanks again for bringing over food to us," Frank said, looking at Remus, Lena, and Peter. Gwen and Sirius hadn't cooked anything. They didn't want to poison their friends, especially when they just became parents.

"Us too," Lily said. "We spend all of our time changing nappies, cleaning, trying to get Harry to sleep. And when we're not doing that we're sleeping."

"I can't believe how much Neville looks like you, Alice," Lena observed as she stroked Neville's cherub-like cheeks.

"You think so?" Alice said. "Augusta keeps saying she sees Frank in him."

"Ignore my mother, Alice," Frank said. "She's delusional."

Sirius laughed. "I'm pretty sure that Harry is just a miniature clone of James."

"With way better eyes though," James said, earning him a kiss from Lily.

For a moment in time, albeit brief, no one was afraid, no one was worried, and no one was sad. Everything was perfect.