5 August 1977
11:34 am
Ophelia had recovered a good amount, now being able to walk around by herself without much trouble. She still had many scars that were most likely never going to heal, but she was okay with that. Each time she looked at herself in the mirror, really looked at herself, the more she accepted them. It took a bit of time to get used to seeing the bruises, the gashes, and the cuts, but she was starting to get used to it. She was eating well too, Mia making sure she always had a meal to eat and offered snacks when she was hungry, a drastic difference from Grimmauld Place.
Ophelia was rather glad that she was able to walk around by herself now, not only because it meant that she was recovering well, but also because she could get away from the almost constant company she was in. She knew they all meant well, but the Potters, Sirius, and Remus were almost always with her, and she sometimes needed some space. Space wasn't hard to find in the Potter Manor, but with someone having to accompany her to every part of the house so she wouldn't fall or just sit there and be with her while she was resting was starting to get on her nerves.
On the first time she was able to get out of the house without anybody with her, she decided to walk around the vast grounds and gardens of Potter Manor. Euphemia told her stories of how James used to play in one of the fountains when he was a little boy, and how Sirius would sometimes sit on one of the benches under a tree to read for a while when he needed to clear his head. She told Ophelia how she kept the gardens nice and taught her a few spells on how to make plants grow and stay alive for longer than they would without.
As she stepped outside into the warm air, she immediately felt the sunlight beaming down on her and the barely noticeable breeze slightly brushing against her skin. She took a deep breath of the fresh air she so badly needed and started walking down one of the many paths of the extensive gardens. The multicolor flowers bloomed all around her, and there were large walls of shrubbery caging in each of the different pathways. She stumbled across one of the fountains and dipped a finger in it, quickly pulling it back out when her fingers turned cold. She kept walking and was about to walk towards a black metal bench near the end of one of the paths when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. A small paper airplane came whizzing from behind her and circled her face before landing in front of her feet. She bent down to pick it up and slowly stood up to avoid any lightheadedness. She looked behind her, but no one was there -- whoever sent it must still be in the house.
Ophelia,
Come back to the house
I have a surprise for you
Yours, RJL
Ophelia slightly grinned to herself at the note and turned around to go back inside. She walked back towards where she came from, appreciating the beauty of the gardens around her and vowing to walk and sit out there whenever she was able to. As she neared the home, she heard the common laughter inside that she associated with the Potters. However, there were a few new voices that she didn't recognize. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to think of the new voices, but ultimately decided that the Potters wouldn't let anyone in if they felt that they would harm her or any of them.
When she stepped inside, she saw Mia, Remus, and two other adults: one with greying brown hair, a brown beard, and tortoiseshell glasses, the other with straight blonde hair and a thin, pale face. The two familiar looking adults were laughing at something Remus had said and Ophelia figured out where she knew them from. They were always at Platform 9 ¾ getting on and off the Hogwarts Express, always waiting for Remus with kind faces. This must be Lyall and Hope Lupin.
Suddenly, Ophelia felt very self conscious. She wished she had dressed nicer to meet Remus' parents for the first time, maybe brushed her hair instead of putting it in a messy half up half down hairstyle, or covering up some of the scars with a bit of makeup or concealment charms. All of those thoughts went away, however, when Hope turned to see Ophelia and her eyes brightened and her smile widened.
"Oh, darling," she muttered.
"Mrs. Lupin, I presume?" Ophelia asked.
"Hello, dear. Please, call me Hope. Oh, how I've waited so long to finally meet the girl Remus can't stop talking about."
"Mum," Remus warned.
"Is it alright if I hug you, doll?"
"Uh, sure," Ophelia hesitated, not sure how she felt about being touched by a stranger, but she wanted to make a good first impression and it was Remus' mum, she was harmless. Either way, she still tensed up a bit when Hope wrapped her arms around her in a quick squeeze.
"Lyall," said Remus' dad once Hope pulled back, and he stuck his hand out for Ophelia to shake. "She's right, Remus hasn't stopped writing about you since his first year, probably."
"Dad!"
"It's alright, it's alright. The amount of time I spent in the owlery writing to my parents was embarrassing, too. Nothing to be ashamed of."
"You went to Hogwarts?" Ophelia asked.
"Proud Ravenclaw," he said.
"And you didn't, correct?" she asked, turning her attention to Hope.
"I'm a muggle, as you wizards say," she affirmed. "It's so nice to finally meet you. Remus, of course, has pointed you out at the train station a few times before, but to be able to actually talk to you is so much better."
"Remus has talked about you two too, of course."
"All good things, I hope?" Lyall said.
"Some good, some bad," Ophelia joked.
"How rude of you, Remus. And to think I raised you as a mummy's boy," Hope teased, reaching her arms up to pinch Remus' cheeks.
"Gerroff me," Remus mumbled, swatting her hands away. "What were you doing out there?" he asked his girlfriend.
*click*
Ophelia and the rest of the group turned towards Mia, who held a camera, taking a picture of the situation.
"Sorry, loves. It's just such a sweet occasion, I feel like we must have something to remember it by!" she explained.
"I was just out exploring the gardens," Ophelia replied to Remus. "They really are lovely," she said, turning to Mia.
"I try my best," Mia smiled.
"You do a wonderful job!"
"She's just like you told us," Ophelia heard Hope whisper to Remus, and she smiled to herself a bit.
"Would you like to move into the living room? I can make us all tea," Mia offered.
"That'd be lovely, Mia, thank you. Come, dear. We have much to discuss, but before anything else, I brought a few select photos that I think you ought to see of Remus as a little boy. My favorite is one of him wearing a pair of Lyall's sunglasses that are way too big for his face but he's smiling so hard and he was so happy to look just like his dad. It's the cutest thing. You must see it, along with the others!"
"Mum, no!" Remus tried to intervene.
"It's alright, Rem. I would love to see little you more than I think anything else on this Earth. Lead the way, Mrs. Lupin."
"Hope, dear."
"Lead the way, Hope," Ophelia said, following the woman into the Potters' living room, a mumbling Remus trailing behind her the whole way through. Ophelia realized how lucky she was to have met Hope and Lyall because it gave her a comparison to how Walburga and Orion treated her. She was glad to have learned what real parents were supposed to feel like, and she hoped with all her heart that she wouldn't have to spend any more time with her parents. Lyall and Hope were caring, sweet, funny, and supportive of everything Remus did, and to an extent, Ophelia envied that, but most of all, she was happy that Remus didn't have to go through anything that she did, and that he didn't have to experience the pain that her parents brought her, not that he even knew what they did to her. He would find out soon enough.
a/n:
these are very loose and if you have any other suggestions please comment them but my fancasts for hope and lyall are laura linney and james mcavoy respectively
hope lupin
lyall lupin (??)
and who do you guys think should be mia and fleamont's fancasts?
k love u bye <3