𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐍 (2) || 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘯

𝐗𝐈. 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧

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It was a gentle sunlight against his eyes that woke Remus up.

When his body finally became aware of the pillows behind his head and the warm cover over his torso, he seriously contemplated letting himself fall back asleep.

But he managed to shake the thought away, opening his eyes properly. He winced, a free hand drifting up to cover them for a moment while they adjusted.

When the sunlight became bearable, Remus rested his hand back at his side. He breathed out a sigh, leaning back on the pillows again. Sleep still called from the back of his mind, so instead he distracted himself by looking around the large room he was in.

Edith's quarters were lovely. The double bed was at the back of the room, underneath the largest stained windows on the wall. A big mustard rug was sprawled out across most of the floor, touching the bed and also resting underneath a pair of chairs and a coffee table a little aways.

There was an ajar door off to the left that Remus knew led to the bathroom, and there was a kitchenette in the right corner of the room, along with an island just beside it, accompanied by two brown stools.

He smiled at the sight of the large tapestry hung above the crackling fireplace on the same side of the room as the kitchenette. The animals made of fabric moved with the enchanted wind that was pictured inside the scene. A wolf, finch, magpie and a black dog slowly journeyed across a large rolling hill, heading towards an endless horizon.

He really did hope that their little group could all be free together one day. Murphy deserved it, as did Sirius.

As for himself and Edith, Remus felt that they deserved a quiet life.

Remus was brought out of his thoughts when the bare arm that was draped across his stomach shifted in place and a head of long, brown hair moved itself onto his shoulder, nuzzling into his neck through a content, sleepy sigh. Her fingers danced across one of his older scars, a white rip across his skin that no longer itched with its siblings when Remus laid his eyes on it previously.

Despite her movement, Edith was clearly still asleep, judging by the way she didn't move after having changing her position in her sleep.

Remus' other arm was around her shoulders, and he had started to idly brush his fingers against her skin.

He smiled, leaning down and pressing a long kiss to Edith's hair.

How long had it been since he had woken up next to another person? It had to have been over ten years, at least.

When he was first faced with the overwhelming grief after losing Lily, James, Sirius, and the man he knew from his school days as Peter Pettigrew, Remus had tried to fill the gaping hole inside of him by waking up next to stranger's bodies in the mornings, but nothing had ever went further than a distracting fling.

But despite last year's gut wrenching reveal, a younger part of Remus still mourned for the quiet boy who he went around with in his own years at Hogwarts. The Peter he knew then had been a good friend, despite what the future had unfairly carved him into.

The Peter Pettigrew he knew had been loyal, easily intimidated but still bold enough to stand up with his friends when the need arose. And he was kind enough to undergo the huge risk of becoming an animagus, just to keep him company on the full moons.

Maybe he hadn't been as rebellious as Sirius, or as confident as James, but Peter had been kind. One of the reasons he suspected why Lily had been so friendly towards him over the years.