Consequences Of The Heart.

Chapter 04: Stranger Danger.

"What's up?"

He was tall, surely nothing less than 6 feet, his head almost scraping the ceiling. He possessed cinnamon and caramel hair curled up from the base that was overgrown, yet went no longer than below his ears. He had light brown eyes that didn't really contrast the rest of himself. He -though his tall self- had somehow found and clothed himself in an oversized faded grey jumper, a little battered due to overuse with a thread or tow sticking out of the seams with beige coloured khakis to compliment them. He had an overall warm and cuddly nature upon first encounter.

Sirius and I were staring intently at the assumed stranger, though Sirius' eyes had a hint of an unrecognised emotion, but I brushed it off. Then something he held caught my eye, he clutched a book in his left hand, it was for some reason instantly identified itself in my brain. It was red-covered -further complimenting his palette- and the words Sense and Sensibility were sewn in a gold thread in cursive. It was a book I had seen ever so often, one of the earliest editions and one of the rarest. Even I -seemingly unsophisticated- was far from uncultured. Further, I had gifted it to one of my best friends a few years ago and he certainly made the most of it.

"Re?" My tone was one of exceeding question. The fact that the stranger was none other than Remus Lupin did nothing short of baffle me. Remus' eyes furrowed in confusion and maybe a slight hurt, probably due to his lack of greeting from his best friends which was quite understandable considering his past. So the next thing I did was abruptly get on my feet and pull Remus into a bear hug. I would say I could feel him smile into my shoulder but I was significantly shorter than him now which felt very unnatural, nevertheless I felt his significant change in emotion. As I pulled back, not wanting to explain the reason for my delayed reaction, I sat down. So did Remus but opposite me next to Sirius, who still sat there, eyes widened and jaw still dropped.

The next thing he did was fairly odd. He reached out and touched Remus' face. The gestures were rather similar to that of a blind man inspecting the features of someone they had never met. He ran his hands all over Remus' face, scars and all, even through his hair, not once taking his eyes off him. He was highly intrigued in Remus' metamorphosis. Remus simply sat there, smiling a delicate and heartfelt smile. It seemed as though he was expecting such a reaction but instead of revelling in his prediction and transformation, he just sat there. Not awkwardly, just comfortably.

During all of this, Peter had been rather quiet, it had been only when I looked over finally finding relief from the shock of appearance, did I realise that Peter's head was leaning on the window, eyes shut with no intention of opening anytime soon. As I looked back to Remus, Sirius had concluded his examination and kept making weird sound with his mouth. I figured it was because his prolonged opening of his mouth caused it to slightly dry up. I muttered a small 'finally' accompanied with a small chuckle, a snarky 'Whatcha gagging on there Pad?' and a complimentary wink. Sirius tried to hide his amusement at my bad joke and eye rolled to the moon and back. What I didn't expect was for Remus to join in.

"Keep rolling your eyes, maybe you'll find a brain back there, Pads."

Sirius looked at Remus in surprise, as he wasn't one to voice his playful insults before looking at me. Before long, we both burst out laughing, Remus eyeing us in enjoyment. I made the quick decision to strike up a conversation about the new and improved Remus, not that he wasn't great before, just a little unhealthy and I was pleased that the bone present previously was now not only replaced with flesh but muscle too.

"Are we going to avoid the fact that Remus looks like model or....?" I wanted to break the silence and I was very curious as to what happened to him. Remus looked at me, blushing profusely and stringing objections.

"Yes please tell us how that impromptu miracle happened." It could have almost been interpreted as sarcastic but leaned more toward eagerness. We chatted about his makeover and I repeatedly asked him to consider joining the Quidditch team which he was incredibly suited for, after my position as the Quidditch Captain in addition to my role as House Prefect, but he kindly refused. We conversed about various topics, including my adventures over the summer, Remus' encounters with Snape and how he 'isn't a bad guy' and whatnot. I do not understand what Remus sees in that git. He is nothing but cruel and hangs out with the worst of the lot.

Suddenly, the door slid open which was peculiar as all the Marauders were present, but I was overjoyed as none other than Lily Evans stepped through. She sent smiles all around before looking for a place to sit. I scooched closer to Peter to create space but she had already seated herself by Remus.

"Looking good, Evans." For some obscene reason that everyone else in the room apparently knew, Lily was offended and sent me a glare. For some reason, whenever I am around her, I feel different, I act different...and kinda stupid. I put my feet up, trying to be suave and look cool, a spectacular fail I realised a little too late.

"For Merlin's sake Potter, get your crotch out of my face!" Sirius was deliberately trying to get on my nerves and embarrass me in front off Lily but I was going to make sure I succeeded this time. Because as Muggles say, millionth times the charm!

Word Count:- 1001

Love, Kale.