ludic • remus lupin

16 • The Evans

Coco woke up in a warm bed with sunlight singing through the shades and making warm patterns on her skin. A puffy but light blanket was wrapped all the way up to her neck, and she was scattered in nap marks. For the first time in a week, she woke up well rested to the smell of warm breakfast and the feeling of sunlight.

There was a moment of fear in Coco's body, in disbelief that she wasn't in her abusive home, but when she opened her eyes, all her doubts went away. She was in a small room with big windows and potted plants everywhere. There was a beige carpet, a large bookshelf, and a cluttered desk.

She took this moment to stand up, and follow the smell of bacon and pancakes, as well as a light hum coming from a female voice. She opened her door and was met by an unfamiliar woman, with long strawberry blonde hair, teased and wavy. She was wearing a long yellow dress, scattered with various different flowers, and was humming the tune to a Beatles song.

"H-Hello?" Coco lightly spoke. The woman jumped a little, then turned to Coco and smiled.

"Colette, you're awake! I'm Lily's mum, i'm so happy to finally meet you." She greeted.

"It's very nice to meet you too, Mrs. Evans. And you can call me Coco." Coco greeted back. Mrs Evans stared back at her with a bright smile, but her eyes looked worryingly at her guests bruised face.

"Please, call me Grace. Lily and her sister Petunia are eating out in the backyard, would you like to join them?" Grace asked kindly. Coco happily nodded, then Grace pulled out a plate and began stacking pancakes, bacon, and strawberries on it.

"Thank you." Coco said kindly, and as she went outside, she marvelled at the gorgeous yard. It was average sized, but was surrounded by flowers, trees, and greenery. Most of the leaves besides pine were gone, of course, but they were all coated in a beautiful type of frost. The flowers seemed to keep blooming. Then again, Lily had a special touch with flowers. Without a doubt that was her doing. She and her sister were sitting at a small table with woven wooden chairs, munching away at their breakfast.

"Coco!" Lily called, then stood up and ran towards her best friend. Lily engulfed Coco in a hug, not noticing her wince out of pain when she squeezed her too tight.

"I'm so glad you're awake. You can stay here for the rest of the Holiday break and as long as you want after that." Lily greeted happily. She let go of her friend and looked her deep in the eyes.

"I was thinking we could go shopping tomorrow. I haven't had the time to get presents for the boys, even though Christmas was yesterday." Lily said with pink cheeks.

"Me either." Coco said with a wide smile.

"That's perfect. We live near these small shops, all one after the other. They're absolutely perfect for what we're looking for." Lily rambled happily, bringing Coco over to the table.

"Well does she have our money? Normal money?" Petunia, her sister asked. Petunia has deep brown eyes and dirty blonde hair, and maybe she would even be pretty if she didn't have such a foul look on her face. She was tall and skinny, with a long neck and judgemental eyes.

"Oh, muggle money?" Coco asked. Frankly, she barely even knew what muggle money looked like.

"It's okay Coco, I'll gladly pay for anything you need. There's actually one shop that accepts wizarding coins too, if you go at the right time and show them your wand." Lily said, glaring at her sister.

As soon as the conversation died down and turned into less important matters, Coco began wolfing down her food, eventually finishing the whole plate, until the plate practically looked clean. She leaned back I her chair and sighed happily, rubbing her stomach. Lily looked overjoyed to see how much her friend had eaten, but Petunia didn't share the same look.