Chapter Text
His entire life had been spent in Beddgelert, a small village in Wales. After the sudden death of his father when he was just over eight months old, Remus and his mother moved from the bustling Cardiff to Beddgelert, Hope's hometown.
They lived in a cozy cream-colored cottage with a maroon roof on the outskirts. The interior, with friendly colors and wooden floors, held a thousand memories of Remus's childhood, his first steps, his first book, his mother consoling him after falling while running in the garden, and the warmth of her smile as she recounted her day at school.
His favorite part of the house was undoubtedly the library. His mother had always told him how much his father Lyall loved books. She shared stories of how they used to read passages from their favorite books to each other. From the moment they knew they were expecting a child, he read him stories every evening. Peter Pan seemed to be Remus' favorite, as Hope could always feel him moving to the rhythm of his father's voice narrating the adventures of the Lost Boys.
Remus grew up fascinated by stories of distant worlds, cursed kingdoms, betrayed princes and fighting princesses. Hope instilled in him a love for reading, and Sunday afternoons were spent reading in the wingback chairs by the fireplace next to the library, wrapped in blankets with cups of hot chocolate on the side table.
It was no surprise that, when the time came, Remus wanted to study English literature. After all, it had always been his dream. He didn't just want to read and experience stories; he wanted to write them, to open the doors to the worlds in his head.
All the effort Remus put into his studies paid off; he was accepted into London's Global University.
After spending the entire summer looking for a place to live in London, he found an old house in the center. It seemed to hide a thousand secrets, its walls witnessing generations of stories. Remus would move in at the end of August to start this new chapter.
And the moment arrived, the train bound for London in front of him, his mother by his side.
"My dear sweet child," she said, looking at him tenderly. "When did you grow up so much?" Hope's eyes filled with tears at the impending farewell.
"I'm just leaving to study, Mom, you're not losing me forever," Remus reassured her. But for some reason, the steps to achieve his dream were harder than he expected.
Hope extended her arms and, holding Remus's face in her palms, she said, "I know, my little wolf, but that won’t make me miss you any less." Before he could respond, his mother continued, taking a navy blue velvet box from her bag and placing it in her son's hands. "I want you to take this to London. I would have liked to save it for your birthday, but I want you to have it on your first nights in the city."
Remus opened the small box and found a little silver wolf sitting, howling at the moon. The small animal was attached to a chain, and as he gazed at it, the train's horn sounded, announcing that it would depart in five minutes.
This snapped Remus out of his trance, and with the wolf secured in his hand, he hugged his mother. He held her as if she was about to disappear, as if he would never see her again. Hope kissed his forehead and enveloped him in her arms. Finally, they separated, and both their gazes reflected that neither wanted to do so. Remus put on the necklace, kissed his mother's cheek, and boarded the train.
Looking out the window, he saw his mother getting farther away as the train moved. Everything he had once known disappeared before his eyes, and new horizons were unfolding before him.
Upon arriving in the capital, he collided with the stream of people at the station and thanked his past self for traveling with only a suitcase and a backpack, having sent the rest of his belongings by mail. He managed to escape the crowd and went to the café across from the station, where he had been with his mother when they came to London to see the house. How he wished he had Hope with him at that moment.
While sipping his mocha and looking out the window at the hurried Londoners on the street, he wondered what his life would be like in the capital. Would he miss Wales? Or would he not want to return even for vacations? Would he adapt well? Could he replicate his mother's soup perfectly? He should have tried making it with her before coming.
After the café stop, he approached the bus stop to wait for the bus that would take him, after a whole morning of traveling, to Grimmauld. The journey lasted no more than 35 minutes, but Remus observed everything attentively, with the curious eyes of a little child visiting the big city for the first time.
Upon reaching the imposing house, he was glad to see there wasn't much dust, and traces of the cleaning he did with his mother in the summer still lingered. Despite having been there before, Remus went through it again, with a different perspective this time.
He left his suitcase at the entrance and went to see the ground floor, which housed the dining room, the living room, the kitchen, and a bathroom. There was also a small pantry between the kitchen and the door to the small backyard. Everything was in dark wood tones, black, and emerald green details, very different from his cozy home in Beddgelert.
The kitchen had more burners than he would ever use, the dining room could accommodate more people than he knew, but it seemed perfect for him. When he completed the entire round, he took his suitcase to the master bedroom, which was on the first floor, along with three other bedrooms and two bathrooms. Remus's room was very spacious, with a double bed and a huge desk next to an empty bookshelf that he would fill with the books currently traveling from Wales.
But neither this bookshelf nor the double one in the living room downstairs could compete with Remus's favorite space in the house. The third floor was an entire library, the house previous owners’ family library. It had three large windows, two armchairs in front of a fireplace with a table in between. All the walls were filled with shelves brimming with books, plus two more in the center of the room. It was like a dream for Remus; there were books that were over 100 years old, others newer, some fantasy, mystery, essays, biographies, crime novels, and everything you could want.
After finding the reading for that night, as he had finished the book he brought for the train, and the others were on their way. Remus went to make the bed to go to sleep and conclude such an intense day, as the next day he had to go shopping for the house and go to campus for his student ID. He couldn't be more excited.
Once the shopping was done and stored in the house, Remus grabbed a bike from the park stand in front of his door and headed to the university. The early September sun warmed his arms as he navigated through the bustling city. Upon reaching the campus, he realized how large it was. There was a green garden with edges filled with trees shading the path inside the marble building. After collecting his document, he saw a board next to the secretary with the activities offered by the university, and when he saw the book club, he didn't think twice and signed up. Just like in the music workshop, he thought it would be a good idea to pick up his passion for the piano again; he wanted to master the intro of Bohemian Rhapsody once again.
After three weeks in the old Grimmauld Place, Remus had already established a routine, the perfect tetris to have time during the day for university and workshops, reading while having tea, doing the necessary household chores to keep the house in order, and exploring the new city.
Everything was settled when the postcard arrived.
Returning from university, as Remus did every day, he checked the mailbox and was surprised to find something. He picked up the postcard with a river on the back waiting there. Upon examining it closely, he realized from the presence of the Eiffel Tower that it was the Seine River. The delicate postcard read:
Hello
This used to be my home, but I think no one lives here anymore. I'm drunk in Paris, and this is the only address I remember.
Happy birthday, Reg.
SB
Remus looked inside the mailbox again in case there was anything else with the letter, but he found nothing. He looked at the Seine image again and saw an address written, Rue Saint-Honoré 127, the sender he thought, but nothing more, no information about who SB was, Reg, or the reason of the letter, why now.
He entered the house completely absorbed by the message and read it over and over until bedtime, when he started to think about what to do with it.
After another whole day distracted thinking about those 31 words, and especially who this SB was, he decided to respond with another postcard to the sender's address.
The next morning, deviating from his usual path to university, he stopped by a store to buy a postcard with a photo of the Thames and the Big Ben in the background, the London version of the Parisian letter.
When the night fell, several cups of tea and crumpled papers later, Remus had the message he would send to the SB.
Hello
My name is Remus, I'm the one living here now. I'm sorry I don't know Reg to wish him well on your behalf. I hope the day is sunnier in Paris than it is here in London.
RL
Despite of it being the best of the different versions, he still wasn't entirely convinced about the postcard, but dwelling on it further would only complicate things more. So, with his curls tousled from running his hands through his hair frustrated, Remus went to sleep to send his postcard to the French capital the next day.