「 or a story in which Remus works at the local library where Sirius and his annoying friends keep coming to work on their projects.」
Remus Lupin just moved to London, due to his mother's sickness and the fact that the best treatment for her can only...
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"It all started when their hands touched. They looked at each other and the world crumbled at their feet."
Remus throws his bag on the floor and tries to take a peak at the surroundings. The building was small, he saw it from the outside, but inside it's pitch black, meaning he can't see a damn thing and he can't even tell where to step next.
He can hear his father's hand traveling across the wall and to the switch, turning the light on and almost jumping when the lights flickered slightly before properly being on.
Remus looks around tiredly, his eyelids barely staying apart as he drags himself to the stairs and starts going up. "Ugh, what floor did you say it was?" The tall boy rubs his eyes lazily, slowly moving his legs up the stairs.
His father coughs twice before talking in his low voice, British accent wrapped around his words like honey. "Only the second one, don't worry."
But even the second floor sounds like too much for the young boy to go through. After all, he only got around three hours of sleep these last two days, the stress of leaving his childhood city and seeing his mother for the first time in three months haunting him.
His mother's sick of pneumonia. What started as a chest infection turned into a much worse thing. She moved to London three months ago with one of her friends, only because her husband - Remus's dad - and her son, Remus himself, had to finish their business back in the old city. Remus had to finish his second year of high-school then sign for the high-school here, online, and this one's father had to quit his job and apply to another one here, in London.
The payment for Mrs. Lupin's treatment isn't exactly an easy one, which is why the day after this one, Remus will go straight to the city or the local stores to see if anyone needs employees. Urgently. He'd take anything- he's good at fixing cars, cooking, everything. Hell, he could even learn to make unhealthy hamburgers for McDonald's if it meant the money would go straight to his pocket then to his parents so they could pay the treatment.
As soon as they got into the apartment, they noticed the clean surface of the floor, the uncovered-in-thousands-of-clothes-and-socks floor and the empty walls, whereas their old house in Birmingham had posters all over, messy clothes thrown everywhere but in their closets and a closed, isolated-like smell filling the entire place.
Hope, the mother and wife is sick. She can't exactly be expected to be able to make a mess in the small apartment, cook all day and fill the air with hundreds of different smells, now can she? She's just a poor woman, spending her every day in her bed, doing nothing but reading, writing, drawing and watching television. Her friend lives just next door- She comes in every morning, takes care of Hope and makes sure she has everything she needs, after which the woman leaves her alone until in the afternoon, and then leaves again, comes back at night right before Hope goes to sleep, to make sure she took her pills, ate and did everything she needed too.
Remus and his father, Lyall Lupin, couldn't be more grateful for having such an amazing friend to take care of their favorite woman. Without her, they would be lost and helpless, but they can't even dare to think of that. They're okay, they just need to fake it 'til they make it. Pretend to be happy and okay when if fact they're hurting and hopeless.
Remus steps inside the apartment first, superstitiously using his right leg first and opening the door. His slow movements almost annoy his father, who's more than impatient to see his wife. They both hear a weak voice coming from one of the four doors displayed in front of them, and recognize it's Hope herself.
Remus looks at his father questioningly before dropping everything on the floor and making his way into, supposedly, his mother's bedroom. The light's off but he turns it on and what he sees overwhelms him. His mother's lying down on a king-sized bed- the walls are white and everything's plain, even her sheets don't have any patters on them.
"And you wonder why you're getting depressed," Lyall jokes before dropping his luggage in the doorway and walking at the edge of the bed, where his wife awaits eagerly and sits up, her back pressed against the wall. "Don't move so quickly!" Lyall worries.
Remus's mother rolls her beautiful, greenish eyes. "I'm allowed and able to move, Lyall. I'm just lazy so I won't do it," the woman admits while searching for the black elastic on her wrist before tying her extremely long and shiny red hair in a high and loose ponytail.
Hope's husband chuckles playfully. "I know, love. How are you feeling?"
And they hug for a very long amount of time, as Remus grabs his mother's hand behind his father, and she opens her eyes to look at him.
"Come on, boys, it's only been three months, don't get emotional."
Remus looks at the woman in front of her as if she's a piece of glass- as if he would squeeze her hand slightly harder, she'd break and fall on the ground. But it's nothing like that. Remus and Lyall don't know this, but she actually feels good. Not like she's sick. She did at first, but it's been three months of good treatment, for God's sake, and Hope's pneumonia isn't in its worse stage just yet.
"Is the amoxicillin good?"
Hope chuckles softly at her husband's words. "It's expensive, so it better be. How about you guys? How are you doing?"
Lyall breaks apart from the hug and glances at his son for s brief second. "We're fine. Remus's principal said he'd call us sometime to see how we are. My boss said I have to go in tomorrow... 'S good, since Remus starts high-school tomorrow. Right, son?"
Remus nods. "Yeah, tomorrow."
"Ugh, sorry for making you two talk right now," Remus's mother says apologetically and points at the closet right in front of the bed. "Lyall, darling, you can put your clothes and everything there. Remus, Diana bought a bed for you and it's in the next room- It initially was a living room but no one ever used it so you also have more space for clothes, a coffee table and a desk you can do your homework on, alright? The bathroom's next to the kitchen, which is right next door. I mean, next to our bedroom, hun'. Questions?" Hope sounds more like a guide as she tells her boys there's enough food in the fridge if they're hungry and they already have toothbrushes here so they can throw away theirs if they brought any.
"I'm not hungry," voices Remus lowly, "I'll head to bed, I can barely keep my eyes open." And he stands up, feet hardly supporting his thin yet tall figure.
Hope nods slightly before outstretching her arms for a one last hug. "Sure, love. What time does school start again?"
"Uh, 8 AM. But I have to wake up at 6 AM so I can get ready and get there earlier. To find the principal's office and all that. Also, uh, I'll get home late because I'll also have to go that library I applied to for a job- It's close to here I think."
His parents nod together and smile. Mr. Lupin says, "If you want I could give you a ride tomorrow. I'll leave at 7:40."
"Too late," Remus's voice sounds lower and lower, "I'll take the bus, don't worry. Good night."
Then he leaves his parents's bedroom - of course after giving his mother a kiss on the forehead and waving at his father. "'Night," the boy repeats before properly leaving the room and literally begging his legs to continue walking down the hallway and to the next room. With his bag in his hand and his half-open eyes, he turns on the light and looks around monotonously.
He messes up his light brown hair and doesn't even care to examine his own bedroom before carelessly and dully letting his body fall in the middle of the bed. Well, on the whole bed, since his body's literally the size of it and he barely has enough space to move his horribly large limbs.
Too tired to even process the fact that he's in a total different house that'll be his new home for the rest of his life, most likely, Remus lets his mind fall into the depth of a whole another universe filled with dreams.
