Title: Scattered Echoes (25/31)
Author:
kingzgurl Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,200
Timeline: post-Marauders Era, pre-Sorcerer’s Stone
Prompt:
dogdaysofsummer 25 August 2009 Summary: As he watches fiendfyre destroy the last of his friends, Remus realizes he is truly alone.
***
The temperature in the flat was just above freezing. Without heat, it was hardly warmer inside than outside, though the walls did offer protection from the rain and sleet that pounded furiously against the outside of the building.
Remus drew his cloak tighter around his thin frame, unable to suppress a shudder that wracked his body from his shoulders to his toes, and looked at the clock on the mantel. 6:27am. It was still much too early to head into work.
He poured himself another cup of tea, his sixth of the morning, and returned to the sofa to burrow into the mound of blankets piled there. The lack of leaking windows meant it was much warmer in the main room than it was in the bedroom, and so Remus had been sleeping on the couch rather than in his bed for the better part of two weeks.
He mindlessly flipped channels on the telly until he found the news and stared with unfocused eyes as the Muggle anchors talked about a nuclear disaster in a place called Chernobyl. Mugwort, Remus’ mind supplied, reminding him of when he studied Russian the previous year. Used to protect travelers from wild animals and werewolves. Remus let his mind wander as the news anchors discussed the issue at hand and he watched the minutes tick by on the clock.
When the time clicked over to 7:00am he turned off the television and pushed the blankets aside. It was still too early for work, but it would be much more believable if he said he had come in to get a head start on the new shipment of wizarding books that had had arrived late last night.
He reached for his bag and wand to place them inside his cloak, and then left the flat, swiftly walking down the empty streets to the bookshop. He wordlessly performed an unlocking charm and entered the warm building, sighing in relief as his cold and tense muscles immediately began to warm and relax from the drying and warming spells that hung in the doorway.
“Remus, dear?” Misty’s voice came softly from somewhere in the store. “Is that you?”
He nodded in response, even though he knew she couldn’t see it, and moved further into the shop. After stowing his things behind the counter he went in search of Misty, searching every aisle until he found her in the reading corner in the very back of the shop with a large book open on her lap.
“You’re here early,” she said as he approached her chair. “Come in to get an early start on the new spell books?” she asked with a knowing smile.
Remus nodded again and squeezed her shoulder gently.
“Well you’d best get to work then,” she waved him away and turned her attention back to the book in her lap. She ran her strong fingers nimbly over the printed words while he walked away, and he idly wondered what she could be reading that would bring her into the shop so early in the morning.
Remus had nearly finished the inventory when the store opened and a young couple walked in. They were only a few years younger than Remus himself, although he appeared nearly ten years their senior due to the stress of the last few years. He nodded a greeting from behind the counter and consulted his inventory list to find which book was missing.
Helpful Potions to Ease Short-Term Conditions of Half-Breeds, 7th Edition (1985)
Remus raised one eye curiously at the title. He couldn’t understand why Misty would be stocking a book about half-breeds, unless she knew… Remus shook his head. He had been working for Misty for four years, she was bound to have noticed that his absences were always around the full moon… except she was blind, how would she know when the full moon was? She was oddly perceptive, even in her old age and blindness, but that didn’t mean…
“Excuse me?” one of the young men asked, drawing Remus’ attention from the parchment in his hands. “I was wondering if you had the 1983 edition of War and Peace.”
Remus nodded and shoved the parchment into his pocket before he stepped out from behind the counter and led the man down a number of aisles to the Russian Literature section. He stooped low to search the lower shelves, feeling the man’s eyes on his backside. He stood as soon as the book was in hand, his face flush and ears burning, and caught the man eyeing him appreciatively. Remus shivered under the man’s hungry gaze, and he awkwardly held out the book in question, eager to get away from the dark-haired man and his intense, pale eyes.
“Would you be interested in joining my partner and me for a drink tonight?” he asked casually, causing Remus’ eyes darted side to side in desperation. “It would be brilliant to have you over. I’d love to have the chance to get to know you better…” The man advanced towards him, cornering him between Russian and French Literature, his body only inches away from Remus’ trembling form. His hand came up to caress Remus’ face softly; Remus flinched away from the touch.
“Remus?” Misty’s voice called from the next aisle over, “Are you available to help this young man find a copy of Gardner’s Art Through the Ages?”
He knew Misty was standing right next to the Art History section, but he was thankful for the escape route. He narrowly slipped away from the man and darted around the aisle to where Misty was standing with a sandy-haired boy. Trying to calm his breathing and ease his shaking limbs, Remus knelt to find the large book and offered it to the man.
The dark-haired man strolled easily towards them as if he hadn’t just had Remus cornered against a bookcase and propositioned him. He stepped behind his partner and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy’s waist, the copy of War and Peace no where to be seen.
“Thank you, Remus,” Misty said, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. His trembling ceased almost entirely at the comforting touch. “Would you mind taking this book to the back while I ring these boys up?”
Remus nodded and took the book, glancing at the title as he made his getaway. Helpful Potions to Ease Short-Term Conditions of Half-Breeds, 7th Edition. The missing book from the inventory list. The book Misty had been reading when he arrived that morning. He tried not to think too intently about the presence of the book as he hid in the back room.
Back in the shop, the bell rang to announce the departure of the two young men. Misty appeared in the doorway a moment later, approaching him and wrapping her arms around him like a grandmother would comfort a child. She held him for a few silent moments then pulled away, ruffling his hair gently as she smiled up at him. “They left you a note, but I threw it away. No one needed to read the things they said.”
Remus smiled back at her, and with a hoarse whisper replied, “Thank you.”
***
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