𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐎 | remus lupin

𝐎𝐍𝐄

[ 𝐂 𝐇 𝐀 𝐏 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑   𝐎 𝐍 𝐄 ]

𝓱𝓸𝓰𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓼 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓼

1976

ELOWEN POTTER WOULD never get sick of the trip to Hogwarts. The shoving through Muggles to get to the platform, the rush of running at the wall, the welcoming sight of the familiar black embroidered cloaks she so loved—all of it held a fond place in her heart.

Her twin, James, must've shared the sentiment. He turned to Sirius and nodded. Before Winnie could stop them from being idiots, her brother and the recent addition to the Potter family raced towards the barrier. James let out a delightful whoop that got cut off halfway as he crossed the wall.

Winnie turned to her mom and rolled her eyes before racing after the two boys.

"It's good to be back!" Sirius laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulders. She nudged out of his hold and hefted up the cage of the Potter's owl.

"We haven't even gotten to Hogwarts yet," she reminded him.

"Don't be such a downer, Win," James complained, tugging one of her curls. She shot him a glare, but once she stepped away from them, she had to admit Sirius was right.

While magic was frequent in the Potter house, the Platform was something else entirely. Witches and wizards bustled by in clothes far from the likes of the Muggle-wear they'd been seeing a lot of lately. Bags, animals, and everything in between floated around in the air. Students charmed away last minute stains and tears and parents popped into existence bearing the forgotten items they'd apparated home to retrieve.

Winnie smiled wistfully, already imagining the good things this year was sure to bring.

When she finally wandered back to her family, she found Sirius had disappeared somewhere.

"Come on," Euphemia Potter said. "I want to try out this Muggle contraption!" Euphemia raised the Muggle camera they found in Muggle London over the summer. Winnie and James wrapped their arms around each other and smiled at the camera brightly.

FLASH

Right after the bright light had gone off, the twins found themselves laying on the cold ground, pressed down by none other than Sirius Black.

"Oh now you come back," Winnie complained, trying to shove him off. Sirius ignored her and looked up at Euphemia eagerly.

"Did I get in the shot?" Euphemia mentioned something about developing and quickly snapped another photo of the three of them on the ground.

After a few moments, the trio huddled around the first photo. James scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

"Why aren't they moving?" Fleamont and Euphemia heard his question and took the photo from them.

"How odd," their father wondered, tapping the picture. "The camera must be broken."

"That's such a shame," Euphemia frowned.

"Come on, you lot. We don't want to miss the train," James all but whined, his interest in the broken Muggle tool quickly gone.

"Please," Elowen said. "You just want to see Lily." James didn't even bother to argue that, just made a shooing motion.

"Oh, my babies are all grown up. I can't believe you're all sixth years!" Euphemia quickly gathered the twins plus Sirius into a giant group hug. Winnie laughed, tears gathering in her eyes, as she felt her dad join in.

She wondered what it was like for Sirius to have such an unloving family. She knew she couldn't stand the thought of growing up in a household like her dear friend did. She also knew that she didn't have to worry about that anymore, after all, Sirius was a part of her family now.

After the group hug, the trio bid goodbye to the Potter parents and went in search of their compartment. James and Sirius entered first, Winnie trailing in last.

Winnie took in her two other friends. Peter hadn't changed much over the summer. He was still the mousy boy she knew and loved. He gave her a tight hug and greeting like he did every year before saying hello to James.

Remus hardly even noticed any commotion going on. He was in one of his many familiar sweaters, his floppy brown hair a mess from running his hand through it a million times. It was a habit he adopted whenever he read, Winnie noticed. At the moment, his face was hidden behind a Muggle book, his legs stretched out across the seats.

"Moony!" James yelled gleefully.

At the same time, Winnie stepped forward, a delighted "Remmy!" leaving her lips.

His head shot up when the Potters called out to him. Remus saw the familiar crooked smile on both of their faces, stood up, and quickly shoved a bookmark in his spot and set the book off to the side before they could ruin it in the whirlwind that was their very existence.

The twins shoved at each other, each wanting to be the first to greet the boy. Winnie just barely won, launching herself at him. Remus easily kept her aloft, his heart racing in his chest and blood rushing to his cheeks as Winnie held him.

He turned his head into her hair and smiled. Everything about the girl was familiar to him, and oh, how he missed that familiarity over the summer.

Her dark hair, which was longer and curlier than James's, always made its way into his space. It was in his eyes, his mouth, his nose. Hell, sometimes he found himself picking the long strands off of his robes. Her face was lodged into the hollow of his neck which, if she was wearing her favorite red lipstick, always left little smudges in the same spots. Her hands found their way to the same spot on his back as they always did. Remus may as well have tattooed her handprints onto his person with how intertwined they felt sometimes.

After a few moments of bathing in each other's presence, James coughed into his elbow behind them. After Winnie made no move to let go, he did it again.

And again.

"Oi! Let me hug Moony! You've had your fill. Bugger off," James complained.

Remus reluctantly released the girl. Immediately, he found his arms filled with a different Potter.

Whereas Remus and Elowen connected like the merging of two stars—vibrantly and all-consuming—Remus and James were like the shore and the sea. A crashing and messy, yet balanced, friendship.

James tackled Remus in a hug, laughing wickedly as they both tipped over into the seat that Remus had previously occupied.

Winnie watched the entire thing with amusement. She threw her head back with a laugh at Remus's face, grabbing Peter's arm to keep her balance.

"While you two continue whatever this is," she waved at the boys. "I am going to find Lily and Marlene. And no James, you can't come."

"Aw but Winnie—"

"No buts. You told me to bugger off so I will."

"I didn't actually mean it." Winnie just rolled her eyes and left the boys to find her other friends.

Lily and Marlene were easy to find with Lily's red hair and Marlene's loud laughter. Winnie pushed the door open and was immediately tackled into a group hug between her friends.

"As much as I love James and the guys, it's nice to be around some estrogen for once," Winnie laughed.

"Don't ruin the moment by bringing your brother into this," Lily complained, the girls separating.

"Is he still trying to get you to fall in love with him?" Marlene questioned.

"Obviously," Winnie laughed. "He swears this is the year, Lily. Swore it on our mother."

The girl in question just rolled her eyes and began to tell her friends about her summer and complain about Petunia.

Listening as the two talked, Winnie wrapped her cloak around her and leaned her head against the window of the compartment, a small smile on her lips.

It was good to be home.