yellow (remus lupin.)

fifty one.

FIFTY ONE.

The Lupin's flat smelt strongly of burning - probably enough to worry the neighbours - as the three of them went about their mornings. Leo was crying for the fourth time in an hour, Cara was ready to rip her own hair out as it refused to tie neatly into her desired style, whilst Remus desperately tried to diffuse the smoke rising from the toaster with an old magazine left lying about.

"Can you deal with him please?" Both Cara and Remus spoke simultaneously from different rooms of the house as their son screamed blue murder.

"I can't, I need to get ready for work." She sighed before screaming quietly under her breath, abandoning the brush and ribbon.

"Yes, and I'm trying not to let the house burn down."

"Burn down from the toast you're making." She appeared behind him, snatching one of the slices out of the machine, only to turn her nose up at the small square of what was formerly bread but now ash. "I'll eat when I get there."

Catching her with a strong grip around the waist and chin on her shoulder as she tried to leave, Remus left a small kiss on her neck.

"What time will you be back?"

"Whenever children stop spreading germs and hurting themselves." She scoffed. "I don't know, after 5 maybe, why? Please see what's up with him."

Relieving Cara of his tight yet affectionate grip, Remus traipsed with exhaustion over to his son, who was lying on the floor on a brightly coloured playmat. He swooped him up off carpet and into his arms, feeling small hands grip at the neck of his shirt, cries subduing. Leo was recently fed and changed, so clearly just wanted attention, just like his mother.

"No reason." He shrugged, swaying Leo with his full body and pecking kisses on his head. "We'll miss you, are you sure you're okay going back to work so soon?"

Throwing a packet of crisps into her bag, Cara sighed deeply. In an ideal world of course she'd be at home with her son and her partner all day, but unfortunately the small family needed as much money as they could get their hands on these days. Plus, whenever a minute of peace was granted to the pair of them, their minds were flooded with distressing scenes of Sirius's death and the war that lay ahead of them. Being back on the Hogwarts ward gave Cara something to while the hours away, make some money and check in on Harry's trio during the day. Not that they needed babysitting anymore, they were virtually adults by now.

"I know you've said you don't mind, but please don't feel like you have to. I know my job's only part time but - "

His ramblings were so lovely and passion filled, but sadly Cara had a floo network commute to grapple with. Pulling his mouth into her with a firm hand on the back of his head, his words became humming against her lips.

"I don't mind, I promise. Just look after our beautiful boy for me." Pecking Leo on the head, his roaming hand latched onto her necklace and pulled gently. "Be good my sweetheart."

"I love you." Remus seemed a little more forceful with his love declaration, almost as if he had something to hide and wanted to make it clear she was of his paramount importance despite it.

Out of the door in a bumbling mess of keys and bag straps, she began her trip to work. It was an easy commute that took her a long way in a short amount of time, but still she managed to cut her timing incredibly close. Most days she would be stepping over the wing's threshold at 8:59am, with less than a minute to get prepared and catch up with Poppy.

Once outside of the apartment tower, she had to walk a few minutes down to Grimmauld Place, pushing and barging her way through miserable looking London corporates and looking not too out of place. If it weren't for her wand being tossed about in her bag, she would be no different to the stuffy men in grey suits. She was grateful Remus's new job in Flourish and Blotts didn't require him to dress as though his personality had been vacuumed out of his body and replaced with a desire to drive an Audi and a love of finance. Reaching the door of her late father's childhood home, she snuck inside and closed the door as softly as possible behind her, before throwing the powder down the fireplace and arriving at her workplace quick as a flash.