Frames » Remus Lupin

fifteen

Remus has sent her a letter. His owl, which had been a present from James in second year so that Remus didn't have an excuse not to write back, was called Arthur and was the most curious owl Ophelia had ever seen. It was very pigeon-like, hopping about and cooing, beetle-black eyes staring off in the direction of whatever they deemed worthy of the title of 'food'.

But the owl was less important than the letter. James had invited Remus (like he did every year) over for Christmas Day at his house. And by extension, Ophelia was now invited as well. So were Jack and Maggie, but Jack had expressed when Ophelia mentioned the invitation that he didn't want to leave their mother alone for Christmas.

So Ophelia took the Knight Bus to Remus' house. It was the first time she had ever been to house that wasn't her own, or at least, since she was quite small. She paused on the doorstep, attempting to settle her stomach, which was rolling around in her insides like it was a dog in a puddle. She couldn't tell if it was from her bus ride, or from the fact that she was standing on the steps of her boyfriend's house, about to meet his parents.

She knocked delicately, and then immediately shrunk back, worried she had knocked too quietly but worried that if she knocked again then she would just be rude. Her worries quelled when Remus opened the door, grinning when he saw her, and wrapped her into a giant hug on his snow-covered front doorstep.

"I've missed you," Remus said, his face buried in her hair, breathing in her scent. She laughed.

"It's been a week," she replied, though her feelings were quite mutual. "I've missed you too."

"Mum, Dad," Remus called, taking Ophelia by the hand and leading her into the tiny little cottage. It was warm and smelled of shortbread, something Ophelia hadn't had since she was seven. A man sat on a sofa near the fire, presumably Remus' father. A woman, her hair tied up, was making some kind of food. She instantly set down her spoon and went over to her son and Ophelia. Wiping her hands on the napkin first she smiled.

"You must be Ophelia," Remus' mother said. "I'm Hope, Remus' mother. It's good to finally meet you."

"I hope Remus told you only the nice things about me?" Ophelia said, smiling politely back. From the corner of her eye, Remus flushed.

"Of course. Lyall, come say hello to Ophelia," Hope turned to her husband with a bright smile on her face.

Lyall stood from his place on the couch and made his way over to Ophelia, shaking her hand when he reached her. "Nice to meet you, Ophelia."

Ophelia replied back politely, thinking how much Remus looked like his mother rather than his father. Without realizing it, Ophelia leaned into Remus.

"Now, here are the brownies, the salad, the shortbread, and the tupperware that Euphemia lent me last time we saw them. You father's going to apparate you two over to the Potter's," Hope said, unloading several things into Remus's arms. Ophelia took a few containers off the top.

"Where's my coat? Hope?" Lyall grumbled, turning to his wife. Hope was busy smoothing out Remus' hair. Ophelia watched on with the sort of nostalgia that gave her pins and needles in her heart. "Accio coat!" A flurry of coats flew out of the closet and pummeled Lyall. Remus held back a chuckle while Hope sighed.

"I told you no magic in the house, Lyall. You're apparating, for God's sake! You'll be in the cold for two seconds, the Potters will let you in and you'll warm up and then you'll leave. You don't even need a coat," Hope sighed, pulling the coats off of her husband. Remus leaned into Ophelia to whisper in her ear.

"Mum's a muggle and thinks that Dad just uses magic to show off to her," Remus said, a grin on his face. Ophelia's face lit up with a smile, her own mind wandering to how her mother and father had been once as well.

Twenty minutes later, they were standing on the Potter's doorstep. Lyall knocked and Ophelia held her containers as tightly as she could. James opened the door in the most James-way possible, throwing the door open and bowing deeply as he beckoned the trio inside.

"Hello, James," Lyall said, amused. Remus rolled his eyes at both his father and his friend. Ophelia let the corners of her mouth twitch up as she entered the house. It was big, the architecture a stamp from a previous century but the furnishings timeless. It felt homey despite the expansiveness of the blueprint. Remus, still holding Ophelia's hand, sensed her unease as she shifted her weight to the other foot and led her into the house. To Remus, the Potter's house was just as much home as his own house or Hogwarts. He greeted James' parents warmly, as did his father. Ophelia felt rather like a small child, half hidden behind Remus as he led her into the house to. It had been a long time since she had been invited to any kind of party, if that was even what this could be classified as. She handed the containers of food to Euphemia, who seemed just as ecstatic to have another visitor in the house as James was, though she knew how to contain it better than James.

"Oh, do tell Hope thank you for me, won't you Lyall?" Euphemia said as Lyall started to go. He promised he would and was pit the door and gone in another crack.

"C'mon, Reemy let's go!" James said, practically bouncing up and down as he tugged Remus away. Ophelia followed, rolling her eyes at his childlike behavior, though she very secretly thought it was adorable how excited he was. Janes led them to his bedroom, which had very clearly been hastily cleaned only hours before. A bin in the corner was full of wrappers to chocolate frogs and droobles gum. There was a door that was tightly shut, though the sleeve of a shirt dared to peek through.

"You have a lovely home, James," Ophelia commented. "Your mother has splendid taste."

"Yeah," James said, clearly wanting to acknowledge his mother's taste but having no perception of what it is. He changed subjects very quickly. "Remus, I've kept my secret stash just for you."

Remus' eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as James rummaged in a drawer and pulled out a piece of chocolate. Remus unwrapped it and popped it with a grin. "Solves any and every problem."

"I wish that were truly true." The words were out of Ophelia's mouth before she could even think them and cast them away. She blushed hard, embarrassed that she had ruined the mood. "Sorry, that was quite dark."

"Is there something wrong?" Remus asked quietly, concerned now. Ophelia laughed darkly.

"There's a war coming, Remus," Ophelia said. "Let us not think of such things tonight, though. We are with friends and there is nothing better."

They all smiled at each other, knowing that both things she had said were true, and proud that they had truly touched the mysterious Ophelia Edwards.