Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
prologue — never grow up ( august 1983 )
☾
THE SUN'S HARSH GLARES SHONE BRIGHTLY THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF AUGUST, and Remus Lupin could only wish that summer would bleed into autumn quickly enough. He never was a big fan of going out during the hotter seasons — wearing sweatshirts in 30°c weather was slowly starting to get unbearable.
It was worth being in the sun, though, just this once. He was sat on the bench in the children's park, watching as a four-year-old Josie Sinclair was in her own little world. Her blonde hair was neatly tied up into a bun, which she had begged Remus to make, and she was wearing a little blue summers dress.
"How much longer left, Uncle Moony?" asked Josie, running up to her godfather. "Until Mama comes?"
Remus furrowed his brows as he looked down at the watch on his wrist — the same watch that was given to him from someone special, many years ago.
"Er — your mother should be here in five minutes, Jo," he responded softly. "Go and play some more, yeah? It looks like that little boy's waiting for you."
"He's my new friend!" Josie exclaimed, the youthful excitement clear in her voice as she clapped her hands together. "Can you ask Mama if she can come slowly? I want to play more!"
"Sure thing, little one," Remus chuckled, watching as Josie's face brightened instantly before she hurried away to her new friend. Intrigued, Remus squinted his eyes to try and get a better look of the raven-haired boy, but the sunlight blinded him.
His heart was heavy as he watched his god-daughter go down the metal slide, wishing things had unfolded differently. Remus absolutely hated how he was there to watch Josie grow up, how he was there for her first steps and first words, how he was there to pick her up from school whenever she felt ill. It should've been her father, not him. It should've been Peter.
Josie definitely took after Valerie much more, the pair of them sharing the same blonde hair, the same azure eyes, the same facial features. But Remus couldn't help but find Peter in her — the way they both would scrunch up their nose whenever they were confused, the way they would both not be able to sleep without a night-light, and the list would just go on and on.
"Hey, Remus," he heard a voice say, causing him to jump. As he turned his head, he saw Valerie Sinclair coming to sit besides him. "How was she?"
"Oh — Jo was great. She had all of her lunch — she wanted chicken nuggets so I made her some — and then I promised her some vanilla ice cream. She had to take a nap after that, though — she was a bit too hyper for me," mentioned Remus with a small chuckle. "How about you? How was your . . . appointment, I think it was?"
