CURSES AND CANDIES - REMUS LUPIN

𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒.

The clinking of silver and gold coated spoons against shiny porcelin plates and glass cups being set down on one of the four long mahogany tables filled air in the Great Hall on the morning of April sixth. Laughter and yawns mixed with the sounds of eating, evidence of how the majority of Hogwarts students averaged about five hours of sleep a night.

At the Gryffindor table, six students were particuarly tired from emotional exhaustion.

As usual, Peter was eating his sorrows away, shoving nearly an entire pancake into his mouth at once. Next to him, Marlene was going the same, except with pumpkinn juice. The pitcher in front of her that had been full three minutes earlier now only had a few drops of the dull orange liquid resting in it's glass bottom.

With his head leaning against Marlene's shoulder, Sirius had his eyes shut and looked as if he was trying to get some mental rest. Across the mahogany table, Lily was absentmidedly spinning her spoon around her cereal while James was just staring at the bunch of grass colored grapes in front of him with empty eyes.

Remus was fliping through a book without really reading it, the simple motion providing a vague sense of comfort that Hollis usually gave him.

Ever since the auburn haired boy had pointed out how the lack of Hollis's presence had been tearing them apart, it was all any of the Gryffindors could see. The split had been coming for longer than they had noticed it's presence, but ever since Remus had opened their eyes to it, they couldn't shut them.

The hooting swarm of owls snapped the six out of their trance, blinking several times to readjust from the emotionless zone they had retreated into briefly.

The Lupin's red owl landed in from of Remus bearing a letter with a dark yellow seal.

"Your parents?" James asked, attempting to break the silence between the Gryffindors that was only being filled by meaningless backround noise.

Remus didn't respond.

You see, when the Slytherin had sealed the letter once more, he had been in too much of an angry rush to really make sure the wax looked untouched and unmarked. 

In classic Regulus Black fashion, temper had overpowered precision.

"Do you see that?" Remus asked, holding up the seal to James.

The Potter adjusted his copper rimmed glasses and narrowed his eyes for a few seconds before noticing what his friend had. In the wax that should be a smooth circle, there was a crack running along with the seam of the letter that seemed to have been remelted.

Above all, Remus was just confused. Why would someone care enough to look in the letter from his mum and dad?

"Someone already opened it," James told the rest of the Gryffindors, who were looking rather confused at what all the fuss was about.

Lily's light green eyes widened.

"What for?" she asked, taking the letter and then handing it to Sirius so he could examine it as well.

As Marlene took the letter, she was the first to try and answer Lily's question.

"Well, whoever it was, they didn't do a very good job resealing it," Marlene said, looking up and handing the envelope back to Remus.

"And that means it wasn't something previously planned," Remus finished. "Just someone sticking their nose where it doesn't belong."

All of them exhaled in a bit of relief as the tall boy pulled out the letter from his parents.

"Did they read anything bad?" Peter asked, not wanting any sort of secrets about Remus's lycanthropy to have been revealed.

After a few seconds, Remus set the letter back down necxt to his empty plate with an even more forlorn expression than he had before.