- Eternal Curse -

0.3 Chapter Thirty Four

Thirty Four

The bus came to a startling halt outside a private road across from the blustering sea. Trudging up the stairs, the conductor called out to the dozing pair, wrapped in each others embrace on the tacky sofa.

"Quay Road, Aberystwyth! Come on up you get." This pulled the two to their senses and they got down and off the bus in an exhausted haze. The doors slammed behind them and then once again rocketed off into the night.

Remus placed his suitcase in his right hand, taking Annie's in the other leading her down the street. They passed rows of small pastel-painted townhouses. As they walked the numbers on the houses went down. 13... 11... 9... 7... 5...

"Remus," Annie puzzled, "I think we've passed your house, right?" Remus laughed and shook his head. They got to the bottom of the row and were faced with the dead-end of a giant hedge.

"Trust me." He assured. Retracting his wand from his pocket, he pointed the tip at the hedge, mumbling something under his breath. The winding branches and ivy began to unravel, recoiling from the place where the wand had once been. This eventually pulled away to reveal a human-sized hole in the foliage. Remus gestured for Annie to step inside. Putting her foot through, and then the rest. She then found herself on the other side of the mysterious barrier. He stepped in after her, the hedge closing up behind them.

Annie looked up and surveyed her surroundings. There up ahead was a small, ivy-covered cottage, smoke billowing from the chimney. A washing line hung out the front window amongst the flowers and raised beds of a variety of fruits and vegetables. Remus led Annie up the path to the worn down, yellow, panelled door. He curled his fingers around the knocker and rapped his knuckles against it a few times before letting go. Annie looked to her right at the dash of bright colour adding flare to the trellis, not knowing where to focus her gaze.

Then the door swung open to reveal a thin woman Annie assumed was Remus' mother. Her greying, chestnut hair piled up on her head neatly. Her calm, resting face broke into a wide smile as her arms wrapped around her giant of a son who was at least half a foot taller than her.

"I'm so happy you're home, Remus." She pulled away as if to fully take in her sons return. Until her gaze met Annie's who stood in an awkward stance. Mrs Lupin took in a breath, surprised.

"Annie! What a pleasant surprise." The two had met very briefly a few times over the years, Annie took a liking to Mrs Lupin greatly and she, in turn, seemed to think Annie was decent enough.

"Hi, Mrs Lupin." Annie smiled politely, "I hope you don't see this as me intruding on time with your son but-." She went to continue her long reasoning behind her arrival but Remus placed a caring hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"But Annie was hoping to stay for Christmas. I told her that's okay, isn't it?" Mrs Lupin nodded, a knowing smile began to play on her lips. She ushered for the two to step out of the nighttime chill into the warmth of the small house. The two squeezed into the hallway, Remus setting his case down by the shoe rack, slipping his boots off and leaving them on the doormat. Annie did the same, instead simply tucking them away in the corner before letting Remus lead her into the kitchen.

They entered a small rectangular room with the kitchen against the back wall by the door and a long dining table on the other side, lit up by the low hanging ceiling light. Mrs Lupin was taking a large copper pot off the stove and ladling what looked like a heartwarming broth into china bowls. As Annie took in the scenery, she stopped at the figure concealed by a large copy of the Daily Prophet. Mrs Lupin walked past the figure as she dished out the supper, clipping them around the ear as she went. They grunted in surprise and folded up the paper which they then placed on the table. It was (or who she assumed was) Mr Lupin.

"Oh, Remus my boy!" He said heartily, getting up from his seat to welcome home his son. Watching this encounter felt like something surreal to Annie. The interaction, unlike anything she had experienced herself. The sweet bond between father and child tearing at her heartstrings.

Mr Lupin then turned to Annie and began to shake her hand with a rather blank expression on his face. Then in a flash, it clicked and he smiled at her.

"You must be Annie. Annie Dean, yes of course you are. I work closely with your father at the ministry. He used to talk about you quite often." This took Annie aback slightly. Her father spoke about her at work? Seemed unlikely. She rejected the idea quickly, summing it up to a polite conversation starter.

"Oh, of course, I forgot you worked in the same department." She replied lightheartedly. Mrs Lupin ushered them to take a seat at the table as she had finished cleaning up the pots and pans strewn across the counter. As Annie slid into her seat, she spoke to Mrs Lupin.

"Remus has told me your cooking is as good as good as the dinners at Hogwarts, Mrs Lupin."

"Has he really, now?" She speculated, placing the bowl in front of her. "Oh and please call me Hope." Before Hope went to her seat, she planted a kiss on the top of Remus' head. He went red and mumbled something under his breath, making Annie grin.

"Well," Mr Lupin announced. "Let's dig in!"

***

"This is your room." After dinner, Remus had led Annie with her things down the hall to the spare room. Remus let them inside, placing the key on the dresser. It was a quaint room with a simple bed, dresser and desk. "I know it's not much but-"

"Not much? You're joking, Remy. It's amazing." Annie beamed and relief washed over him. Once again he felt captured by her wide, thankful eyes. For a change, it was Remus who pulled Annie into a hug. Her warm body fitted his like a jigsaw piece, the part of him that was always missing, he realised, was only made complete when she was in his arms. Her hand reached up as they broke apart, her delicate fingertips tracing the scars across his cheek, making them feel beautiful as she did with whatever she seemed to touch.

When she noticed Remus had gone frozen she hesitantly pulled her hand back to rest at her side.

"Goodnight, Remy." Annie stepped behind the door, her hands placed around the frame as the signal for the end of their rendezvous.

"Night," Remus replied sheepishly as the door slowly shut on him, leaving him out in the hallway alone, with the one thought whirling around his mind that he, Remus John Lupin, was utterly in love with her as (she would soon discover) she was with him.