1982 | Remus Lupin

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The warm sun beamed down in the early morning hours. Bustling Londoners hurried passed the girl hurrying, her cardigan flying behind her though she hardly needed it in the morning sun. She was late.

She could hear the loud grumbles of those she pushed through in order to get past, shouting loud apologies at those who would listen and rolling her eyes at the particularly bitter ones who cursed her. She knew herself how rude city folk could be, and sometimes she wished she could stop and shout at them to give them a taste of their own medicine.

She never did.

The jingle of the café bell rang through her ears as she entered, "sorry I'm late!" tumbling from her lips as soon as the door had closed behind her and she hurried towards the hook for her apron. She dumped her bag down, greeting Penny with a quiet 'morning' whilst the blonde-haired girl tried to make sure Charles hadn't heard Romy come in.

"I think you're in the clear," whispered Penny in passing, "he's been talking to Shirley since early this morning, he didn't notice me come in so he might not have noticed you."

Romy couldn't help but sigh in relief, tying her apron tightly at the back and pushing her hair behind her ear. Charles could easily fire her at any given moment, and she couldn't afford that. She didn't have any experience in the muggle world to get a better job than the coffee shop - she knew she could go far with her magic abilities, but she just wasn't ready to dive back into that part of her life.

"Your admirer is back," Penny said with a wink. Her voice was quiet, but Romy managed to make out what she said, though it didn't help her confusion. Though, when Penny nudged her head subtlety to the back-corner seat next to the window, Romy almost did a double take.

Remus was back.

He was hardly her admirer, but she couldn't deny that it was rather surprising to see him again. What confused her, though, was Penny even noticing him.

"He stayed here all day yesterday," said Penny, as though she read her mind, "and only came to order coffee when you were serving. He hasn't ordered yet, by the way."

"That means nothing, Penny," Romy scoffed, doing her usual and fixing a pot of coffee, "not everything in life has a hidden meaning. Maybe he just prefers my incredible customer service skills to yours."

"That's impossible!" Penny exclaimed, flipping Romy off when the girl snorted. Romy watched the girl grab the broomstick from the other end of the room to sweep the floor before the businessmen came by for their morning coffees.

The café wasn't overly popular, it was situated in the heart of London but it only got busy sometimes. The busiest time was always the morning but after that, they were lucky to get more than ten people in at a time. Romy didn't mind that, though it was nice to take it easy during the day, sometimes she longed for something more exciting, something that didn't seem boring after a few hours.

She could clean every mug and cup and plate that they had and make as many pots of coffee as she wished but it would never fulfil the dreams she had since she was eleven. Since school, and her favourite class and the true career she wished to pursue.

She wondered what would happen to her friendship with Penny if she were to leave the café if she were to jump back into the wizarding world and rekindle old friendships and started the journey to becoming what she always wished to be. The thought was scary, and she hadn't truly realised that she had no one to confide in for such thoughts, but there was no use to think of that right now.

She had a stable job - well, stable enough - and she did love her flat, but a part of her would always long for a little bit more. She was scared, but after the war, she tried not to think of fear. She would rather ignore it than embrace it.