A.N: This little one-shot's been in my head for a while now. I got the idea of it after listening to a piece of classical music called "Timeless Nature", hence the title. Somehow listeneing to it reminded me of Remus, and so I put the song on repeat, turned up the volume and this story was born!
Disclaimer: I am heart broken to say that I do not own anything in this story, not even the computer I typed it up on.
The sun shone down brightly on the grounds of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The sky was a perfect blue, and students, taking advantage of this beautiful spring day, lounged about on the grass doing homework, chatting idly or just gazing peacefully at the wonderful scenery around them.
A lone man stood at the top of the courtyard leading out to the grounds, breathing in the fresh air with an expression of melancholy on his weather-beaten features. He exhaled deeply, casting a sad smile at the outside world and its occupants. Many scars could be seen on his face, and his eyes reflected a troubled past, one filled with darkness and sorrow, and horrors no man should ever see.
A particular place caught his attention, a willow tree at the base of the great, dark, blue expanse of the school's lake. Suddenly, this man was not a man any more, but a young boy, laughing and joking with his friends.
"Whatcha doin' Moony?" A sixteen-year-old Sirius Black asked, leaning his head in front of Remus' face and grinning cheekily.
Remus sighed and placed the book he had been trying to read by his side, "This, Padfoot, is a book," He began to explain, an expression of seriousness on his face, "And do you know what we do with a book?"
"Erm…" Sirius sat up and put on a gesture of mock thought, "I don't know Moony, what do we do with a book?" he asked, smirking.
"Read with it you great prat!" Remus replied with an exasperated sigh, whacking his friend with it.
"Oh…Ow!" Sirius batted the book away, laughing, "Guess what Prongsie?" he said to the messy haired boy sitting the other side of him. The boy didn't reply, seeming to be gazing at something in the distance.
"Oi! James!" Sirius shouted, waving his hands in front of James' face, "I said…Guess what!"
Now it was Remus' turn to laugh, "Forget it Sirius, he's off in 'Lily-land.'" The pair burst out laughing.
Upon hearing this, James snapped out of his reverie, "Huh…What? Moony!" The bespectacled boy sent a glare in Remus' direction, who was still laughing, "That isn't funny."
"Course it isn't James my boy," Sirius said soothingly.
"You're mocking me, aren't you Padfoot?" James asked, eyebrow raised.
"Mocking you?" Sirius put his hand over his heart, "I cannot believe you would even think that I was doing such a thing!"
The grey-eyed boy waved his arms in a dramatic fashion, before he and Remus fell about laughing.
"You two are prize gits, you know that?" James said sulkily, "Well, you won't be laughing when I marry her."
"And that will be the day when Hell freezes over and the world suddenly loses all of its sense of reason and makes Padfoot here Minister of Magic," Remus commented dryly, turning back to his book.
"You said it Moony…hey…" Sirius glared at Remus for a moment, before looking around suddenly as if he'd forgotten something, "Where's Pete?"
"Detention," Remus replied simply, turning another page of his book.
"You guys, I'm being serious!" James said to them, his expression urgent, "I am going to marry Lily Evans!"
"Now you see Prongs, that's where you're wrong," Sirius began, "because I'm Siri…"
"Shut UP Padfoot!" Remus and James chorused together, before all three of them burst into hysterical laughter.
The older Remus Lupin sighed, that particular memory fresh in his mind. His sharp eyes swept once again over the grounds, spotting a messy-haired boy sitting with a group of friends, looking no older than thirteen. Harry Potter.
He is so much like James…Remus thought as the group shared a laugh together, his heart saddening as he remembered that he would never see James Potter again. Or, for that matter, the girl he always said he was going to marry, Lily Evans.
"Lily…" Remus whispered to himself as a sudden breeze picked up, swirling round him. He remembered her so well, her fiery red hair, the same fiery temper, her passion for life, and her eyes…those beautiful emerald eyes that she had passed on to her only child, Harry.
The wind became stronger and Remus pulled his robes tighter about his person as the weather turned colder. He turned back into the courtyard, passing between the stone arches. Time seemed to travel backwards as he could see the younger version of himself wandering about the same corridors, perhaps under James' Invisibility Cloak, perhaps pulling a prank with Sirius, or sneaking off to the kitchens with Peter.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Remus arrived at another part of the grounds, this time closer to the lake. He sat himself down, his back leaning against a fallen tree, and closed his eyes, the voices of his friends going round in his head, haunting him:
"Aww, Remus…don't worry, no-one knows about your 'furry little problem'."
"Sirius, that makes it sound as though I've got a rabid bunny!"
"Oi! Evans! Wait up!"
"Here we go again…"
"Hush Padfoot, let the boy think he's got a chance…"
"What Potter?"
"Go out with me?"
"Owch…that's got to have hurt…"
"And you were saying he had a chance, Moony?"
"What did you think of Question 10 Moony?"
"Loved it. Give three signs that identify a werewolf. 1). He's wearing my clothes, 2). He's wearing my clothes, 3). His name is Remus Lupin."
A solitary tear rolled down Remus' face as the memories of the past overcame him.
But they're gone, all of them are…he thought sadly, trying to make the voices disappear, And you're going to have to learn to accept that.
A.N: I hope that was alright...two stories uploaded in a couple of days is a personal record for me, I'm quite amazed. And I apologise for all the lines, they were the only way I could break the things up.Now...if only you'd click the little review button in the corner...