The Sun, Moon & Stars

76. Waves Crashing Over

A couple dozen miles away, the current occupants of the Lupin household were having less of an enjoyable day.

Sirius was yet to leave the cottage, and had been staying there for a little over a month and a half. It was a different plan from the original one — how he was supposed to stay temporarily for shelter — but Ginger refused to send him back into the woods to starve, and Remus could hardly disagree, even if he had concerns about their safety.

The quaint cottage was under a number of protective spells and shields, and the likelihood of any witches or wizards passing by their largely muggle town was slim to none, yet there was still worry. Being discovered as an accomplice to an ex-convict would land him in Azkaban, Ginger would be sent away, and Sirius would be doomed back to his rotting cell. Therefore, Remus didn't allow Sirius or Ginger to leave, it would bring attention to them, and even then he himself only left if they needed groceries, or if it was the full moon.

On the topic of the full moon, Remus had been doing just fine. True to his word, Dumbledore continued to supply the Wolfsbane potion, and despite not being on current speaking terms with the curious man, he was grateful for that. He would take the potion early in the evening, before retreating outside to the meadow, where he'd spend the night. Even if his mind was his own, he always felt more comfortable being further away from people.

Mind you, Remus was still, at the heart of it, a timid man. He was weary of how full moons with Sirius would go, since they hadn't done that in almost thirteen years. And like many other aspects of his life, he avoided the topic. He shut down Sirius the moment he brought it up, saying that it wasn't safe for him to go outside — even if at night — and that he was fine on his own.

That was hardly the truth, though. He was sure it would be fine if Sirius accompanied him, but he was worried. Tension was already running high during the days, and he wasn't sure how ready he was to open up to Sirius again. To be vulnerable. To be like they used to be.

He wasn't sure if they would ever be like they used to be.

However, tensions were running unusually high at the Lupin household, which was probably due to the bitter day it happened to be — October 31st.

Since the full moon had been a couple days prior, Remus had slept in, even though he could hardly sleep at all. His limbs were aching, but that was the least of his problems. His mind was always buzzing with Sirius around. There was too much to think about at once — him and Sirius, the kids, James and Lily's death day — and it made it near to impossible to relax.

The anniversary was always tough, as it would be for anyone who lost so much all in one day, but this year it was worse. He wasn't with Ophelia, he had little to distract himself with, and Sirius was there — for the first time ever.

That was why he stalled leaving his bedroom. The prospect of staying inside it all day seemed appealing, but after coming to the realization Sirius was bound to have an equally bad day — if not worse — he chose to not be bitter, and to make an appearance despite his personal feelings about doing so. So he pulled himself out of bed and got dressed and presentable before he ventured out of his bedroom.

Sirius was on the couch in the sitting room when he climbed down the stairs; which wasn't too much of a surprise since he had been sleeping there since he arrived. Remus insisted he took his own bed, but Sirius didn't want to intrude, nor did he want to invade Ophelia's space, or Remus' untouched childhood bedroom, so he opted for the couch; usually transforming into his animagus form during the night to be more comfortable.

"Morning." Remus murmured, not wanting to disrupt the quiet, but not wanting to be rude either as he made his way into the sitting room.

"Morning." Sirius mumbled back, not looking up as Remus passed him on his way to the kitchen.