How soon is now? [Lena]

[Remus John Lupin]

I am the son
and the heir
of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the son and heir
of nothing in particular


Remus was a little bit nervous. It would be a lie to say he was not nervous. Of course he was nervous. No one apart from his best friends had ever visited his home during the summer (or ever, for that matter) and this was the first girl he'd be taking home in ever, too. He had pressed the fact that Lena was a friend and a friend only and his parents were smart enough not to challenge him when it came to this, knowing that the fact he had not mentioned Annelise in a while could not possibly be a good sign.
They were going to pick up Lena from the nearest floor station in their tiny little cadet. Their fireplace was not connected to the floo network for the simple reason that they could no afford floo powder, nor the yearly costs for being connected, so they had a little second hand car his father used to go to work in and which they used for the weekly grocery shopping. Remus had grown too much to squeeze himself behind the driver, so he was in front next to his father (who was driving) as his mother sat in the back.

His mother was pleasantly chatting with his father, the radio was playing 'Silly Love Songs' by Paul McCartney and Wings, and Remus was silent - reading a book (Le Morte d'Arthur, to be exact).
It wasn't a very long drive. Sure, they lived far from the nearest town, but the wizarding world had been smart enough to place their floo station not near any town at all, so that it was only a pleasant twenty minute drive. The weather was warm, the car's windows were open (one of them was permanently open because it was broken, but that was a minor detail) and Remus snapped his book closed with a bit of a tense smile on his face when they arrived.
He glanced at the pocketwatch Annelise had given him. "I think we're a bit late," he muttered, looking around, trying to spot Lena. It wasn't busy, but there were enough people present (presumably to enjoy a day at the country side) to make Lena disappear in the crowds.

[Lena Marie Becket]

Clothing: clicky

Lena was hurrying through the crowds to try and get to the place where the cars would pick up train passengers. Remus had owled her, letting her know that him and his parents would be in a car. She glanced down at her watch again and put on an extra burst of speed. It would not do good to be late for meeting up with the, She’d been looking forward to coming and visiting Remus in his home since he’d mentioned it. She really wanted to meet his family and make a good impression on them. The train had arrived on time but it took them forever to get her her luggage back and by the time they had, she already felt late and rushed. That was when she had started working her way through the crowd which was made slightly difficult because she was so short. But she valiantly continued on, knowing she’d find them soon enough. Finally she broke through the crowd and looked around at the few cars there.

Each one seemed a bit older so that description didn’t help her any on finding them. But then she saw his face in one of the windows and smiled widely. “Remus!” Lena’s hand rose in a wave as she hurried that direction, so glad to be seeing her friend again. Her luggage was pulled along behind her and it was only by pure luck that it didn’t fall off in her hurry. She stopped in front of them with a wide, bright smile, obviously very excited to be spending time at their home and with Remus who had very clearly become like a brother to her. Lena didn’t know what she would do without him. “hello. I’m Lena.” She knew she had to introduce herself out of manners. She wasn’t too bothered by it and did it out of respect for Remus’ parents. “Thank you so much for inviting me to stay with you for a few days.”

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus was peering at the crowd, trying to find Lena, and he spotted her the moment she spotted him. His face broke into a smile and his nerves evaporated the moment she called out his name. She had shown up, this was good. Seceretly, he'd been a little fearful that she wouldn't be there. Not that he didn't trust Lena to show up, he was just afraid something might've happened. Hogwarts was all safe enough, but the same couldn't be said about the outside world, of course.
She ran towards them and Remus happily hugged her. "Good to see you." He smiled. It was good to see her. Remus had the feeling that he could consider Lena his best friend at the moment and that was exactly how it felt. He trusted her. Maybe not as blindly and without words like he sometimes trusted his friends, but he felt like there was an understanding between them.
Remus was in his muggle clothes today, a pleasant change from his school uniform, actually. He was wearing a pair of fading jeans and a shirt with short sleeves. A bandshirt to be exact. He had saved his pocket money to get it: the bandshirt with the album art from David Bowie's 'Diamond Dogs'. Now Remus usually didn't wear longsleeves at home in summer, not when it was as pleasantly warm as today, but in public was a different matter. His mother had tutted at him a little, but Remus had very stubbornly refused to wear anything under his shirt to hide his arms. It was a way of showing his parents how much he trusted Lena (plus maybe that tiny bit of puerile stubbornness shining through).

His parents smiled at Lena, shaking her hand and introducing themselves as they walked her to the car. "I'm John," his father said. He had pleasant twinkles in his eyes that Remus also sometimes had. "And my wife's called Mary." Remus looked a lot like his mother, though he also undeniably mirrored some of his father's features. “Thank you so much for inviting me to stay with you for a few days.” Mary smiled as John put Lena's things in the trunk. "We're glad you're visiting. Finally a face to go with all the stories." "Mom!" Remus objected, but grinned.
"We'll have to sit in the back, I'm afraid," Mary told Lena. "The boys are just too tall, or so they say. I think they're just too whiny - it's not that long a drive."
They all got in the car and Remus turned the radio down, putting his book aside and turning half in his seat as his father started the car and drove off. "Did you have a good journey?"

[Lena Marie Becket]

Clothing: clicky

Lena was glad that she had finally been able to get Remus used to her little touches. They were just friends but she was a very touchy person. She liked hugs, she liked bumping her friends in a joke, she liked patting someone’s bad or shoulder if they were feeling bad and she was trying to make them feel better. Lena was just that kind of person, probably because she didn’t get human contact during the summertime very much unless it was for a dance and someone had to touch her. So she was glad that Remus had finally gotten used to her hugs and everything and he no longer seemed bothered by it and would even hug her himself sometimes. “Good to see you too. I missed seeing your handsome face.” She winked at him playfully before laughing softly.

She stepped back to look over him and smiled widely, seeing how he looked in muggle clothes. “You’re so cute.” She tugged at the front of his shirt gently once before letting go again. “Who’d have known you were a fan of the Bowie. I approve most heartily, Rem.” Lena gave him another hug, really just too happy to see him and being invited to stay with him for a little while to control herself at the moment. She stepped back again so she could meet his parents. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Thank you for letting me come and stay with you.” She shook their hands firmly, unconsciously letting them know she might be a tiny thing but she wasn’t that weak. Lena had hoped that her clothing wasn’t too muggle for his parents, but now that she saw what Remus was wearing, she relaxed about it and just couldn’t stop smiling she was that happy. She laughed at Remus’ mom’s comment. “Thank you, ma’am. Good to know he doesn’t just talk about the boys and homework all the time.” Her gaze slid to Rem and she sent him a look that said she’d tease him about it later. “Aaaah. I see that. That’s fine with me. I’m small enough to fit just about anywhere.” She climbed into the back next to Mary and put on the seat belt, looking around. The place was actually very nice. Her gaze focused on Remus when he spoke to her. “Yeah. It was fun.” She smiled. “How are you enjoying the break so far?”

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus couldn't express how happy he was that Lena was here. Admittedly, he had only had the boys over before so it would be quite different with a girl, but then again throughout the year he had stopped focusing on the fact that Lena was a girl and had started to see her as one of his friends (a category in which gender did not matter).
“Good to see you too. I missed seeing your handsome face.” He snorted a little unelegantly at the compliment, pulling a face which made his mother laugh. "I told you girls would think you handsome," she said with a grin and John slapped his son on the shoulder with the comment "a ladies' man like his father" which caused Remus to roll his eyes and (judging by his facial expression) swallow a sarcastic comment.

“Who’d have known you were a fan of the Bowie. I approve most heartily, Rem.” Remus laughed a little. "Very welcome. I have some records of him at home." Given, most of the records were second-hand, but hey - they were fine music-wise! When Lena hugged him he happily returned the sentiment, though he had to admit that his mother was smiling just a bit too much at this. He knew it was just because she was happy he had good friends like this, but her fussing something just got to him. He was fine! He was no longer the overly-shy eleven-year-old she had sent off on the Hogwarts Express for the first time!
He smiled at the way Lena spoke to his parents, so polite - so very different from James and Sirius, who had simply barged in and acted as though Remus' home was theirs. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Thank you for letting me come and stay with you.” Mary smiled. "You're welcome dear, any friend of Remus is welcome in our house. Stay as long as you like." Both Remus and his mother knew that last thing was not true. If Lena decided to stay longer than intended and full moon approached, everyone knew Remus would look sick and Mary would tell Lena she needened stay if Remus was being sick all the time and that she'd take care of it, something like that. Remus knew his mother wanted to be a great hostess like that and if there wouldn't have been that problem she would've allowed Lena to stay forever and longer. It was a shame, really.
Luckily, Remus' father managed to pull both other Lupins from the thoughts they had unbeknowingly been sharing. "What a grip - I'm surprised you didn't squeeze our Rem to death just there," he commented with a laugh, and winked at both teenagers.

“Thank you, ma’am. Good to know he doesn’t just talk about the boys and homework all the time.” Mary shared a bit of a conspiratory glance with Lena, though she knew Remus could hear her, and said: "Well, I'm just glad he's got good friends to talk about." Remus pretended he hadn't heard her. Sometimes he had to - she was having so much trouble letting go of him, it was just a little stifling sometimes. In Mary's eyes, Remus would always be her sickly little boy, even if she meant well.

After they'd squeezed themselves into the car and John had started driving it became clear how remotely the Lupin residence actually was. They passed through a village or two, but soon, nothing but empty wide space surrounded them and there was no other village in sight.
“Yeah. It was fun. How are you enjoying the break so far?” Remus smiled a little. "Good to be home, amonst my own things, I guess. I sort of miss school, though." Mary laughed a little. "He spends so much time there, I sometimes wonder if Hogwarts is his home more than ours."

It wasn't a very long drive, half an hour, at most maybe forty minutes. The Lupins lived in a cottage you might want to describe as 'typically British country', tatched roof and all, but there was a distinct (though well-camouflaged for the untrained eye) hint of magic around. Remus' mother had a well-kept garden in which she grew several medicinal herbs, but that could pass as a regular vegetable garden of some kind. Inside, the change was far more noticable, mainly because of the books on magical creatures that lined the walls (John's expertise) along with potions books that were more in Mary's line of interests. It was obvious that the Lupins never got much muggle visitors (or no visitors at all, maybe) by the way they did not seem to be bothered if a magical item was in plain sight or not (for example, Remus' summer holiday homework complete with astrological charts was all over the kitchen table, his wand next to it). John frowned a little and for a moment it seemed as though he was actually annoyed with the mess, but then quietly said: "I want you to keep your wand on you, boy, especially when we go out" but that was all there was said, no explanation. The Lupins seemed to ignore the ongoing war (Daily Prophets unread in the trash, the fact they barely mentioned it), but it was certainly on their mind; in silence.
Remus quickly nodded and slid his wand into his sleeve with practised ease and grabbed Lena's hand. "Come on, I'll show you the spare bedroom."

The spare bedroom was on the second floor of the house, a room next to Remus' with a spare bed that was probably transfigured from the desk that had been there (because it was obviously a study/storage room - the wallpaper betraying that it might once have been a nursery). "I know it's small, but if the weather stays the way it is, we'll be outside most of the time anyway," Remus said with a bit of a shrug. "Though if the bed's uncomfortable you can have mine. My room's next to here."

[Sorry, Long Post - Rem wouldn't shut up xD
Aww, man! I was going to make Remus compliment the film Labyrith with David Bowie, but that doesn't come out for another decade or so xD]

[Lena Marie Becket]

Clothing: clicky

Lena couldn’t help but laugh softly as she watched the rolling of the eyes at the ‘ladies man’ comment. “He really is. He makes the hearts of a lot of girls at school pitter patter.” It wasn’t her fault she was teasing him. It had just been such a perfect moment. Her eyebrow rose. “Oh really? I think I just figured out what to get you for your next birthday then.” She winked at him playfully. Lena smiled brightly, knowing that they were just being polite, but appreciating the thought all the same. “Thank you.” His parents really were terribly nice and she really liked them, finding them soothing and everything a parent should be like. She blushed and laughed softly. “Thank you. And I’ve told him the same thing, about breaking him with a hug. He’s too skinny sometimes.”

She turned to his mother and leaned in slightly, trying to be quiet but figuring Remus would hear her anyway. “He’s my best friend.” Lena was looking out the window, enjoying the view of the countryside. “That is a perk, along with being able to sleep and not have any classes every day.” Lena laughed with Mary. “Home will always be where family is. And I think Remus would probably agree with me.”

She found out that she loved their quant little house. It wasn’t anything like hers which was a good thing in her opinion. Her home was nice, truly, but it always felt so completely empty that she couldn’t stand it for long and that was why she was always about in London. She looked over everything she saw and found that she really wouldn’t mind living in this home as well. It was so peaceful and looked so much like a real home that she couldn’t help but wish that she belonged to this family so she could be part of a family again, and to have a home instead of just a house where she lived. Lena blinked but smiled when he surprisingly took her hand and started to lead her toward the house. “Alright. Lead the way.” Her hand gripped his back gently so he wouldn’t think he was just dragging her all over the place.

Lena walked into the room and looked around, smiling slightly. It wasn’t huge or all that decorated but it was still really nice. Her gaze turned to Remus as she shook her head, still smiling. “I like it. I don’t need a lot of things. And I’m sure the bed will work just fine. Though I might still come and visit you in your room of course. But no, I really do like this little room. Thank you.” She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek softly before setting her bags down on the bed.

[Remus John Lupin]

“He really is. He makes the hearts of a lot of girls at school pitter patter.” Remus snorted again. "If you continue like that your pants will catch fire," he teased, though it was true that Remus wasn't in the mood to think about the possibility of wooing girls.
Remus' parents sure were nice and it was obvious Remus had inherited their overal personality (his slight mischievous streak and occasional fierceness originating from his father, while his mother was a calmer sort of woman, but also more worrying). “I’ve told him the same thing, about breaking him with a hug. He’s too skinny sometimes.” Remus grinned a little and shrugged. "Can't help it, you've seen the amount of food I shove down my throat every day." True - he had a more than healthy appetite. His leanness didn't bother Remus much, though he did sort of hope his muscles would fill out a little now that he was sixteen. He looked like a twig compared to James and Sirius.

When Lena told her she was Remus' best friend, Mary smiled at her affectionally and squeezed her hand. "I'm glad," she quietly said, apparently honestly touched.
Remus grinned a little when Lena mentioned sleeping. "If there's anything he likes, it's sleeping in," John said, voicing his son's thoughts, obviously. It was true. Remus usually rose early when there were classes, but occasionally he would work extra hard during the week so he could have a lie-in on Sundays.
Mary nodded, agreeing with Lena about the home-is-where-family-is, obviously, but then added. "Still, those boys seem like family sometimes. I don't I ever had friends who were that close." She sounded glad for it, though. "Still, I'm glad he's also befriended a sensible girl who'll teach him some manners."

Remus hadn't expected Lena to complain about anything in the room, but he wanted her to be comfortable. His home was probably very different from hers, after all. "Still, just let me know if there's anything you need, okay?" he said with a bit of a smile. "Even in the middle of the night, my room's just next door."
After showing her to her room and leaving her luggage behind there, Remus went about showing her around the rest of the house. He pointed at a hatch in the ceiling of the landing. "Attic. That's where all my old stuff is." He shrugged. "Not that interesting, plus it's dusty so we needn't go there." Next he took her to the bathroom, which had a boiler for the shower. "We don't have electricity," Remus explained. "In fact, I think we should be glad to have gass at all, a remote cottage like this." He laughed slightly. The cottage had been a rather prestigious farm in the victorian age, hence the gass still being up and running, but the family had eventually migrated to the city and no one had lived there until the Lupins had moved in, hence the lack of modern conveniences. "We make do, though - if the water runs cold, the spell to fix that is right here-" he pointed to a note attached to the mirror.
He checked Lena's reactions for a moment, wondering if she'd be annoyed by the lack of modernity. Remus, personally, thought it was quite homely how they only had gass lamps and no television. Then again, he couldn't really remember the home they'd had before.

By the time he had shown her where everything was, Remus could smell that dinner was as good as ready. "Oh!" He grinned at Lena over his shoulder as they walked back downstairs. "If my nose is correct, I think mum baked chocolate cake."
When they came into the kitchen, Mary was busy by the stove and John was just setting the table (one leg shorter than the other, there was a daily prophet under it to keep it from being wobbly). "Teenagers," he commented with a grin and a shake of his head. "Trust them to know when there's decent food about to be served."

[Lena Marie Becket]

Clothing: clicky

She grinned and teased right back. “Good thing I’m wearing my flame retardant pants then, isn’t it?” Lena shrugged as she thoughtful face. “True, true. You eat like you haven’t eaten for days, most of the time. I still don’t understand how you never gain any weight.” To emphasize her point she poked him in the belly slightly. When Remus’ mother squeezed her hand she squeezed back softly, blushing slightly with embarrassment but liking how Mary seemed so touched with her words, even if they were just the truth. Lena almost laughed at the comment on her being a sensible girl, but held it in, not wanting to insult Rem’s parents. She hung around the boys too much, she wasn’t all that sensible. “Thank you. I’m glad we became friends too. I can’t imagine not having Remus around now.”

Lena shook her head, still smiling, and laid a hand on Remus’ arm gently. “I’m sure there won’t be anything, but I’ll keep that in mind. Might need you to come scare the boogy man away some night.”
“Old stuff of yours? Is your baby blanket up there?” Her eyes were bright with teasing. “Maybe we should go up some day and check it out. Go through memory lane and all that.” Him mentioning no electricity just made her shrug slightly, not really bothered. They were wizards after all. She could live without electricity and a tv among other things as long as she had her wand. Not a big deal. “It’s a really nice home. Definitely cozier and more home like than my place.” Her house just felt too empty, even with 4 house elves running around to help her out. “I just hope I remember to check out the water heating spell before taking a shower,” she said with a smile. Otherwise the Lupins might end up hearing a loud shriek some time soon.

Her laughter carried down the stairs as she followed behind. “You and chocolate cake. Must be a love affair.” She noticed the shorter leg of the table once they got into the kitchen and almost laughed slightly but held it in. Then Lena was smiling as she shook her head and jerked her thumb toward Remus. “Don’t look at me. Remus smelled it and brought me down.” She took in a deep breath though. “It smells delicious, Mrs. Lupin.”

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus was really very focused on making Lena comfortable. Sirius, James, and Peter just made themselves comfortable and even during their first visit it hadn't taken very long before they spoke as freely to Remus' parents as though they were all their children. Remus expected Lena to hold back a little more (after all, not everyone can be as outgoing as Sirius and James), even if it was fine if she didn't. Remus hadn't anticipated it would be so different, having Lena over instead of the boys. Still, it was a nice change, especially this summer.
“I’m sure there won’t be anything, but I’ll keep that in mind. Might need you to come scare the boogy man away some night.” Remus laughed. "We don't get boogy men, my dad warded the house specifically against them," he joked. They'd had a boggart or two, but John being an ex-ministry employee, he was more than able to get rid of those.

Remus laughed heartily as she mentioned his 'baby blanket' and shrugged. "I don't know," he said, still chuckling a little. "If you want to see my old schoolbooks and plush animals so bad, I suppose we could drag them down?" He shrugged. He was fine with it. "It'll be dusty, though. Very much so. We put that stuff up there when we moved in and never touched it since." And that had been a decade ago.
He was glad she wouldn't miss the electricity, though. He didn't really know anything about Lena's home apart that it was in London, so he guessed she did have it. He remembered watching television at Pete's house once, Sirius had been quite bewildered by the whole thing of life in a box. Despite everything, it made him smile to himself. Remus was just glad he'd been able to fix a recordplayer with his dad. He wasn't sure if it was entirely legal, but he didn't care a lot. He wasn't very much legal, either.

Remus stuck his tongue out at Lena with a grin. "Don't be jealous of the chocolate now, you know I love you just as much," he teased. "Besides, you were the one complaining I need to gain weight."
“Don’t look at me. Remus smelled it and brought me down.” John laughed. It was a loud, jovial but pleasant sort of laugh. "I bet he did," he said, still chuckling to himself and ruffling Remus' hair, which annoyed him a little. Mary Lupin beamed at the compliment and beckoned Lena to sit down. "Thanks, dear - but just call me Mary, that's fine."
Rem's appetite also seemed to be partly inherited from his father, as became obvious throughout dinner and at some point Mary commented that 'if they continued eating like this, there would be no room left for cake'. Remus laughed slightly and smiled at Lena. "There's always room for cake."
In the mean time, John had turned to Lena between two bites. "So how do you like Hogwarts?" It was a very plain question, and he knew that, but it was a great opening for other questions, like what she was good at and liked most, or what she wanted to be when she grew up. Remus had the luck of having parents who were actually interested in the friends he brought home.

[Lena Marie Becket]

Clothing: clicky

Lena wanted to explain to him that by boogyman, she meant the muggle moster story that was told to scare little kids, but let it go. He didn’t need a random lesson in muggle bedtime stories, even if it amused her greatly that he had completely missed her allusion. “Good to know,” she said with a smile, not caring about unpacking until later.

She laughed with him and shrugged. “I was kidding for the most part but maybe someday we could do it actually. Would be fun to relive your childhood wouldn’t it? If only a little bit of it. I haven’t seen my kid stuff in years. When did you and your parents move here?” Lena had only ever lived in the one house. She didn’t even leave it when her parents died. They left it to her, and she needed that connection to them. Not to mention the house elves she lived with. They couldn’t be moved away from their home.

She laughed and rolled her eyes playfully at him. “Loved as much as chocolate cake? I must be lucky.” Lena snickered and reached up, acting if she was going to ruffle Remus’ hair too, just to tease him. When her attention was brought back to Mary she nodded. “Alright, ma’am.” It would take her a while to get used to calling the woman by her first name. It was just how Lena grew up. She was too used to calling adults by their last names that by calling them by their given name sounded odd coming from her mouth.

She laughed and shook her head at him. “Maybe for you, there is, Rem. I’m good with a small slice.” She never ate all that much and her friends frequently could out eat her every time they had a meal. Especially Remus and Sirius. There really was no justice in the world that the two of them ate like pigs and never gained an ounce.

Lena looked up from her own small piece of cake and blinked at the question before smiling. “I love Hogwarts. It’s nice being surrounded by people who are just like you. Classes are pretty difficult sometimes but I study a lot and work hard to keep my grades up. I’m very good at charms and transfiguration.” It wasn’t often she got asked that, unlike other students at Hogwarts probably. She had no family to ask, to be truthful. So it was nice that Remus’ parents cared enough to ask.

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus had had a hunch she hadn't been completely serious when she'd been talking about the boogyman, but oh well. Fact was still that their house was well-warded, especially in these times. After all, Remus was a registered werewolf and there had been rumours going about that they were being recruted rather actively. Oh, and not to mention that his mother was a halfblood. Good reasons to keep your home safe.

Fact was, Remus hadn't really thought about what they were going to be doing once Lena had arrived at his place. With the boys everything just happened.. they had a few old brooms and Sirius and James usually took their own and the fields were wide enough to play all the Quidditch you wanted (even if Remus sucked at it), but he wasn't sure if Lena would like that, actually. He was fine with it if she wanted to play about on memory lane.
"Would be fun to relive your childhood wouldn’t it? If only a little bit of it. I haven’t seen my kid stuff in years. When did you and your parents move here?" Remus grinned and half nodded. Sure, he didn't mind much. She could see the play-potioneerings set he'd blown up at age seven. "When we moved here? Oh, a decade ago or so, I think." Remus shrugged a little, pretending as though he didn't know the exact date when they had moved because it was etched into his memory.

Remus' parents both seemed to take a liking to Lena. Then again, they basically did that with anyone Remus brought back home - they were very loving people by default. Remus contently listened to the conversation between Lena and his father while enjoying his dessert thoroughly. True, he could eat like he hadn't eaten for weeks, but Mary Lupin's chocolate cake deserved a different kind of treatment.
“I love Hogwarts. It’s nice being surrounded by people who are just like you. Classes are pretty difficult sometimes but I study a lot and work hard to keep my grades up. I’m very good at charms and transfiguration.” John Lupin grinned, obviously recollecting his own schooldays. "I was a Gryffindor just like you two, though I wasn't as good at transfiguration." He laughed. "I sometimes think I should maybe try and pick it up again, but so many new spells have been invented since then."
Mary, meanwhile, got up to clear the table, Remus following her example and giving her a hand putting everything in the sink. The dishes weren't done by hand, though - obviously. "I liked transfiguration," Remus' mother remarked. "But mostly for its possible use in potions." Mary Lupin worked in a wizarding apothecary and it was obvious Remus got his thinking-outside-the-box from her.
John turned to Lena again. "Tell me, does that painting up by the astronomy tower still swear when you pass it without greeting?" Remus rolled his eyes, but grinned. It was nice to see his father with a bit of a schoolboyish glint in his eyes for a change.

[Lena Marie Becket]

Clothing: clicky

Lena nodded, believing him. She really never picked up when he was lying to her about things that dealt with his history with the moon. Other times, when he was trying to lie or fib, she’d catch it. Maybe it was just because he’d lied about that part of him for so long she never saw past the stories? “That’s a long time. So this place really must be home for you. It’s always nice to have a ‘home’ instead of just a house.” She was smiling as she said it, believing her words completely. After her parents had died, her home had become just a place she lived for a long time. It took a while but finally she was able to call it a home again.

Lena really did like his parents. They were kind and polite and actually reminded her of her own parents. If she had brought Remus home to meet them, she imagined it would have gone about the same way as things were now. She looked at John, all of her attention on him as she truly was interesting in what he was talking about. She smiled. “So Remus got his house from you then? And I might be good at those things but Rem always seems to get a higher grade than me in classes.” She laughed and nudged her friend slightly while he was devouring the cake. That boy really need to learn to breath between bites. When they were all done she started to get up to help with the dishes but Remus was already helping Mary. The words, “Can I help with anything?” were out before she realized the dishes were doing themselves so they probably didn’t need help. Lena blinked in interest, not really having thought much about transfiguration and potions going together. “That’s really interesting. You must have to use transfiguration because some items for potions can only be made from transfiguration. I get it.”

She laughed and nodded. “There is a painting that does that though it’s not by the Astronomy tower. It’s near the trophy room now. It must have been moved.” Whenever she went by that particular painting she always remembered to say ‘hello’ not really relishing being yelled at. Least of all while she was sneaking around the school at night to go to the kitchens or because she was bored and couldn’t sleep.

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus found it quite extraordinary that Lena had never suspected him of lying before. She always seemed to be able to read him like a book. Then again.. maybe it also depended on the subject; she might not expect him to lie about reasons why he was sneaking off. And even if she did.. she might just think he was secretly seeing some girl or something. Hah - if only! Of course, he also had a nice repertoire of moon-lies, as opposed to having to lie on the spot, which he did notoriously well when it came to marauding, and notoriously crappy when it came to lying to friends.
“That’s a long time. So this place really must be home for you. It’s always nice to have a ‘home’ instead of just a house.” Remus nodded a little. "Yeah, I hardly remember our previous home, either. Don't even rememeber where it was, even. Some suburb somewhere, I think." He smiled a little. "I like this place better." That was true, he did like this place better, despite the circumstances because of which they'd moved. Then again.. let's not romanticise it all - he had been a little lonely the first year, having to get used to being homeschooled, having no playmates around, plus rather ghastly transformations. Remus shrugged to himself and decided not to dwell on the subject. What was the use?

To see Lena and his parents getting along like that made Remus smile. Not that he had expected anything differently; he had always thought of Lena as the daughter his mother would've loved to have. His parents easily got along with people, anyway, and they appeared to try even harder when it concerned friends of Remus, as though they'd never forgive themselves if they would make their son lose a friend. Remus wasn't sure if he felt a little annoyed by it or touched.
John nodded proudly when Lena asked him if Remus got his house from him. "Though apparently his studious nature is his mother's," he replied. Mary shrugged a little, obviously being modest. "Being a Ravenclaw doesn't mean you're instantly brilliant. It's a matter of hard work." Her husband laughed a little. "Exactly what I'm saying - the boy is a perfect mix." Remus blushed to past his ears and rolled his eyes. "Dad!" He said no more than that, though - there was a piece of cake left. Mary Lupin shook her head and muttered something about indigestion, but never stopped Remus. She couldn't deny him anything.
“Can I help with anything?” Mary Lupin smiled affectionately. "Of course not, dear - you're our guest." Remus grinned a little. "Brace yourself or mum'll even tie your shoe laces for you," he joked and exchanged a grin with his father. Mary smiled when Lena mentioned the use of transfiguration in potions. "Oh, yes, I majored in combining spellwork with potions," she said with a smile and an enthusiasm that would not be completely foreign to Lena if she'd ever seen Remus being thrilled about something. "If you're interested in any books make sure to tell Remus to lend you some," she added with a nod.

"Near the trophy room, huh?" John chuckled. "I suppose they wanted it out of the way - it said pretty crude things. Well. For a Middle English knight, anyway. Very focused on chivalry and manners, you know."
Remus chuckled slightly, sitting back in his chair, quite comfortable if not rather full. He was fine, he rarely overate, anyway. It was good to see his parents interacting with Lena like that. He got to see his friends in school, but he had a feeling his parents didn't often see a lot of other people apart from each other while he was away. The evening was pleasantly warm but not too oppressive, a breeze fluttered in through the kitchen window and Remus had to admit he felt pleasantly relaxed. "What do you want to do tomorrow?" he asked Lena casually. They could go out for a walk or something this evening, that was fine, but visiting the nearby town was something that would need to be planned, as Remus couldn't drive, walking was too far, and flying was out of the question. "If you want to visit the village nearby we can ask dad to take us?"

[Lena Marie Becket]

Clothing: clicky

“It really is nice. I like it even more than my house.” She smiled while she said it, so he’d think she was exaggerating, but it was true. This place felt like a home. Her house didn’t. She couldn’t even call it a ‘home’, truly. Lena really was glad she was getting along with his parents so well. They were nice and she was glad they accepted her so easily. It really had been a long time since she’d been around loving parents. “Well I’m glad he got your house as well as your studying habits.” She looked from his father for the first part to his mother for the second. “We might never have become friends without those qualities.” Lena smiled over at Remus, glad that they had met that one quiet morning.

She laughed softly at Remus’ joke but turned back to Mary. “I still don’t mind helping out around, if you need it.” Lena smiled, seeing her Remus in his mom, and nodded. “Thank you. I’ll remember to ask him about it later then.” She actually was pretty interested in the subject. It sounded like something she might want to do later in life. She would read up on it and decide if that would be the kind of career she wanted. Remus must get all of his personality from his parents because the more they talked, the more she could recognize traits in Rem.

“I think it might have gotten worse than what you’ve heard. I mean it was listening to students and all the crude things they say for a long time.” She shrugged. “I’m thinking it picked up on some of the words over the years and that’s why they moved it.” Lena sat back as her friend did, relaxing into the chair. Dinner really had been fantastic. She felt full and happy. Definitely a really good day so far. She shrugged slightly at his question, not really knowing. “I don’t really know. I’m pretty much up for whatever you want to do. You know I’m really not that picky about things except for when it comes to studying and my sugar quills.” She smiled at him, knowing he fully understood and remembered her habit of never studying without a bunch of sugar quills beside her. She just couldn’t focus without it.

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus laughed softly. "Really? Well, if you like it this much, I wish you could always live here, but, well.." He shrugged a little. As much as he'd want that, it was not an option. Not just because if his little monthly excursions, not just because they lacked the funds - he would also feel very unfair if he'd take Lena away from her own family who, no doubt, loved her. Rem was still oblivious that Lena had no one to go home to.

“I still don’t mind helping out around, if you need it.” Mary smiled a little. "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll manage. I'll let you know if I feel like asking for help, though," she added with a wink. Remus knew that look. His mother wouldn't ask Lena for anything.
Remus smiled a little. "It's a pity I've never shown much talent for potions, but at least you can put my mom's books to good use," he said to Lena, nudging her under the table.

Remus had expected Lena's answer to be 'I don't know'. She didn't really know what there was to do here for a bunch of teenagers, anyway. Then again.. there wasn't much to do for teenagers, really. Okay, so the village had a small cinema and a record store (and a pub in which they were not allowed) - that was pretty much it. Remus had spent his summers with James, Peter, and Sirius mostly playing quidditch and coming up with new pranks (occasionally trying them out on his parents, but only occasionally).
He laughed a little when Lena mentioned the sugar quills. "I will never forget your sugar quill obsession," he joked, "but I'm not really in the mood to start on our summer homework yet, so I'll skip that option, if you don't mind." He glanced out the window; it was still pretty light outside. "I suppose we could go out for a walk or some flying - or raid the stuff in the attic if you feel you'll be able to survive the dust bunnies." He grinned a little.
Remus' parents had gently faded into the background. Nice enough parents to focus on their son's company when needed, but they knew when to leave teenagers alone.