yellow (remus lupin.)

thirty one.

THIRTY ONE.

The Easter holidays appeared out of nowhere, and Cara was soon receiving letters from family begging her to come home. She realised how long she had gone without seeing them, and suddenly had the urge to be back in the small terraced house in the Manchester suburbs, bouncing her baby sister on her hip.

Remus had taken the news rather well. He was encouraging her to go, pulling on her heart strings by telling her not to take her family for granted before it was too late. She explained how it meant he would have to go without sex and kisses for a fortnight, to which his smile faltered but his encouragement could not. He would miss her terribly, but it would be good for her to get away for a bit.

It was Sirius who had a full scale tantrum at the information. He was rightfully concerned about his lack of food provider, as well as entertainment. She had tried to reassure him he would manage just fine, but it all reached boiling point when he tearfully spilled out how much he would miss her. She had been keeping him sane over the past few months, and he was worried he would slip back into his old mentality of Azkaban once again. Mediating the situation, Remus offered to take over her role for the interim.

So, after a few goodbyes and one long train journey completed, Cara was stood on the muggle platforms of King's Cross Station with her trunk. She had given Stassie and Oliver a goodbye hug as the girl took him home to meet her parents for the first time. The panic on his face was laughable, but there was no way on earth her parents wouldn't love him to bits.

Tony's loud voice bellowed her name across the station behind her, and she turned to find him. He was armed with a bag of snacks from the newsagents, whilst Andrea was carrying Sadie in her arms.

"Welcome home pet!" They both exclaimed and engulfed her in the warmest of hugs.

Sadie — who was now babbling incoherent words — had her arms stretched out for her big sister, who dutifully scooped her up into a cuddle.

"We missed you so much, Christmas wasn't Christmas without you." Andrea fixed Cara's hair in her true motherly fashion.

"It wasn't safe mum." She sighed, suddenly feeling immensely guilty. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, no sadness! To make up for it, we're having Christmas dinner tomorrow, crackers and all." Tony teased.

Heading for the car outside, they piled in and set off back for the north of England. Sat on the backseat with her mother whilst her sister and stepdad were in the front, the radio was blaring Oasis songs as loud as possible without waking the baby. Andrea filled her in on all the family drama, such as disagreeing uncles and pregnant cousins. Cara told them about her outstanding mock exam grades, and her parents gushed with pride. As they reached the midlands, tiredness washed over Cara and she took a nap against the window.

She was shaken awake by Tony a few hours later, the car now parked in the pitch black outside of their home.

"Go up to bed love, your room's just how you left it." He helped her out of the car and led her to the house.

Following his advice, she said goodnight to her family before heading up to her bedroom.

Her room was the smallest in the house, but it was perfect in her eyes. Somehow they had squeezed a double bed in there, which was littered with mismatched cushions. One of her walls was a pastel yellow colour, but it had been covered by various posters for the bands Tony had raised her on such as The Clash. All of her trinkets she had massed over her life remained in the usual spot on her dresser, now with a slim layer of dust on top. It was her sanctuary, no matter the size or decor.