1982 | Remus Lupin

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

He looked different...tired, sad - it could be either or it could be both and Romy was sure in his case it was definitely both. She knew what had happened in his tight-knit group of friends. Of the Potters, of Sirius Black whose name sent a shiver down her spine and their friend Peter Pettigrew.

All of them were nice. She studied with Lily Evans a lot in their later years at school and she was always talking about James and the boys. Romy could remember the tears in her eyes when Lily would tell stories of their antics and the things they would get up to, she would get jealous sometimes of the friendship she shared and the love between Lily and James, but she was never close with Remus.

It'd be a surprise for him to even recognise her and he hadn't yet, she wondered if that was because he was too engrossed in the world outside rather than the café he was sitting in. He looked so different from the last time she saw him, at the funeral for James and Lily that was held shortly after the events at their home. It was everywhere, even muggles had reported something odd, but they weren't sure what - the funeral wasn't big though.

Only those who knew the couple together or separately were able to attend but at that, a lot of students and professors turned up for the service. She remembered Remus from that day, how he didn't have that smile he used to always have around his friends, but rather a frown able to break someone's heart.

It mimicked almost perfectly the one on his lips.

And Romy wondered if it had ever left.

His hair had grown longer, not too long but longer than it had been and longer than she had ever remembered seeing it. Stubble grew on his chin and around his face which aged him a few years more than what he should look like - he could pass for late twenties with the bags under his eyes and pale skin that seemed to have not seen the sun in years.

But those scars that always trailed over his skin were there, even more prominent than what Romy remembered but she wasn't quite sure she could decipher his appearance. He was a memorable person to Romy, always sweet and charming and funny when she had the pleasure of talking to him, but she was very easily a forgetful face...it broke her heart to see him like this.

"Romy?" Penny's voice seemed distant, and Romy could hardly concentrate as memories upon memories poured into her mind from her school days. She missed it, she missed Hogwarts and the sort of naïve bubble she and her peers had been in to keep themselves safe.

She missed magic, her wand and even just going to her classes.

She wondered if she'd feel like this if any of her previous classmates walked through the door, or if the sudden shock of Remus Lupin of all people had her remembering the nice Gryffindor's she couldn't help but envy slightly.

The friendship four people could have, and then five - it seemed almost impossible, and from an outsider's point of view like Romy had been...it was.

"Romy!" Penny finally exclaimed, grabbing the girl's arm and pulling her back to reality, "Are you alright? You seem a little...distant."

"Uh yeah," Romy hummed, forcing a smile onto her lips whilst ignoring the thoughts running through her mind and the prickling feeling in her gut that someone was watching her, "we need more coffee."

Her eyes spared one more glance at the suspect of her gut feeling, tucked into the very corner of the coffee shop next to the window with his eyes taking her in. She couldn't help but look away, eyes focused on the coffee pot in her hand and making sure she didn't spill anything.

She remembered the times the boys - Remus, and his friends - would play pranks. Sometimes, they were harmless and other times she knew they had gone too far but they knew that too. Romy was sure she could remember catching Remus apologising to a victim of their particularly harmful pranks, even offering to do their homework to make up for it.