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[fics_by_maple]

Written for the __hp_love summer fic a thon

Prompt: "A heart can be broken; but it keeps beating just the same."
Title: Last Sunday Supper
Pairings/Characters: Remus Lupin
Word Count: 1037
Rating: PG for angst.
Summary: Remus Lupin reflects on his last night with his friends.

Prompt: "A heart can be broken; but it keeps beating just the same."
Title: Last Sunday Supper
Pairings/Characters: Remus Lupin
Word Count: 1037
Rating: PG for angst.
Summary: Remus Lupin reflects on his last night with his friends

~^~^~^

I’ll never forget the night that my heart broke. Believe it or not, it wasn’t a woman who broke my heart, well, not just a woman anyway.

 

We had standing plans for supper, all of us, every Sunday. Ever since James and Lily were married and moved into their home in Godric’s Hollow.

 

As I walked down the front walk, past the bed of peonies, I thought of how I had missed my friends this week. Our individual assignments for the Order had kept us busy, but we wouldn’t talk about that tonight.

 

Lily’s rule was that we couldn’t talk ‘business’ on Sunday nights. It was just about family she said. Especially since Harry had been born.

 

Our weekly ritual was even more important to us since the dangers had increased, and our little circle of friends found itself the target of our greatest enemy.

 

Stepping onto the front landing, I knocked on the door.

 

I didn’t know it then, but that was my last action in a world where my friends were alive and trusted me. It’s a lonely world for a poor, wizard werewolf, but I knew inside those doors waited a little piece of home.

 

James opened the door. Before I even saw the look on his face I could feel his emotional anger slam into me. The adrenaline pumping in his blood was fierce. It startled me at first, but the calm expression he wore told me he didn’t want to discuss it.

 

I merely assumed that he and Lily had had a row. It wouldn’t be the first time. They had the most fantastic arguments of two people in love that I had ever known.

 

I smiled at him, and then I realized that he was still standing in the doorway. At the time I thought it was my imagination that he faltered just a bit before moving aside for me. I wouldn’t have imagined any reason James wouldn’t let me in.

 

“Remus,” was all he said.

 

I should have noticed the lack of “Moony” right then, but I didn’t. My guard was down. It was the last time that would happen.

 

The next wave of emotion to hit me occurred a moment later when Lily walked into the room. Fear. I could smell it in her body chemistry. There was anger there too, but she was more frightened than angry.

 

I couldn’t imagine what kind of row they would have for James to be so angry and Lily so afraid.

 

“Good evening, Lily,” I said, moving in to give her a peck on the cheek. She sidestepped me quickly and nodded, giving me a wary look before looking at James again.

 

Lily had never treated me unkindly, not once in all the days since we became friends. Honestly, when we were all together, it was usually she and I who worked together to tame James and Sirius.

 

While something was clearly troubling them, I did my most favorite thing to do in the Potter’s house. I plopped down on the floor on my stomach next to little Harry. He was the spitting image of my best mate, with his wife’s eyes. He was a striking child.

 

Harry cooed at me, “moo-ey.” It was the best he could do, but I was honored by it. It was fat lot better than what Sirius received, “poof-t”. Don’t think we didn’t rib him about that.

 

I couldn’t hear the words being spoken, but I was aware of the whispered argument that was taking place in the hall between James and Lily. I didn’t think it was any of my business.

 

Harry and I carefully stacked his wooden blocks into a mighty castle and we cheered loudly when his fat little hand swatted the tower down again.

 

Before we could begin rebuilding our tower, Lily came in, quickly scooping Harry into her arms.

 

“You can join the boys in the parlor, Remus,” she said, without even looking me in the eye, leaving me lying on the lounge floor on my stomach like a fool.

 

Sirius greeted me friendly enough. He shook my hand, and looked me hard in the eyes, as though searching for something. Several times, I thought he wanted to ask me something, but he never did. He just kept looking at me, watching me. Even when I went to use the loo I caught him at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me to return. Now I knew everyone was clearly agitated about something.

 

Everyone that is, except Peter, our dear friend Wormtail. He and I spoke easily all through dinner while everyone else sat silently eating. I didn’t catch a trace of anything unusual about him.

 

I wish I had thought about that harder. It might have mattered if I had.

 

Lily even put Harry’s highchair between James and herself at the table. I usually sat next to Harry, helping him chase peas and carrots around the tray with his tiny spoon.

 

By then end of that very quiet supper, I knew something was up. I knew it could not possibly be the werewolf thing. ….Could it?

 

I was verily dismissed after the meal.

 

Lily took Harry upstairs straight away.

 

I asked Sirius what he was up to. At this point, I would even have been willing to ride on that infernal motorbike of his -anything to acquire some normalcy among my friends.

 

However, Sirius announced that he and Peter were leaving. He did not ask if I’d like to join them, and he didn’t leave room for me to bring it up.

 

James stood there, just eyeing me. That’s when I noticed his wand in his hip pocket and I certainly thought his hand looked ready to grab it.

 

I was just working up the courage to ask him, once and for all, what was up, when he opened the door and bid me goodnight.

 

Then it was done. Just like that.

 

There was no late night chat up. No bedtime story for Harry. No fire whiskey shots and exploding snap.

 

No goodnight.

 

No goodbye.

 

I never saw them again.

 

When the world celebrated and my world crumbled, I learned; a heart can be broken, but it keeps beating just the same.

Comments

[shygryf.livejournal.com]

As you can see i'm working my wat through ones i've missed or forgotten.

Lovely and heartbreaking story.