swim || remus lupin

it's a beautiful day

The first morning of spring break I woke up before Remus did. This was strange considering the fact that I was known for sleeping in, as well as the fact that Remus was known for not.

Despite my best efforts to fall back asleep, the golden light piercing through the slit in Remus's grey curtains lit up my eyelids and made it impossible.

I sighed and opened my eyes to look enviously at the boy beside me. In the natural lighting, his scars were pink and sunk into his tanned face. He had a simple expression, loose. No furrowed eyebrows, no crinkled eyes, no frown, no smile. Simple. One of his hands was still holding onto mine from the night prior, and the other was slipped underneath my waist and gripping onto the remnants of my - well, his - shirt.

I smiled and placed a quick kiss to his forehead, knowing he was too deep of a sleeper to wake up from it, before slipping my hand from his grasp and sliding out of his warm blue blanket.

I raked my hands through my hair briefly and slipped on a pair of socks before walking around the mattress on the floor. The mattress that I was meant to have slept on. Taking a quick glance in his full length mirror at my tamed tawny curls and my combination of socks, shorts, and Remus's oversized shirt, I figured this was the most presentable I'd be able to look without waking Remus up.

I cracked the door slightly and squeezed out, careful to turn the knob before I shut it to avoid any extra noise.

Bare feet stepped over carpeted floors as I made my way down the stairs. I turned the corner at the bottom to find Mrs. Lupin in the kitchen, holding a fiery pan and trying to wave the flames away.

"Everything alright?" I asked, entering the kitchen with a light laugh.

Mrs. Lupin whipped her head around at the noise, a few stray pieces of hair falling from her ponytail and into her face. She blew them away and smiled, placing the pan down.

"Yes!" She breathed with a bright smile, but as she glanced at the pan it fell. "Well, not exactly."

I laughed and pulled out my wand to perform a quick Extinguishing Spell. Mrs. Lupin sighed with relief, her eyes closing briefly before her smile returned.

"Thank you so much," she said. "I suppose sometimes this magic business can be quite useful."

"On occasion," I shrugged with a smile. "What were you making?"

"Pancakes," she said pitifully. "Remus told me chocolate-chips were your favorite."

I smiled at the thought of Remus and his mom talking about my favorite anything, and then I remembered Remus's comment at the train station regarding my diet.

"You know that I do eat food at school, right? I'm just a bit picky with some English foods."

"Oh, I know dear," Mrs. Lupin waved. "I don't take much of what that boy says seriously."