Author's Notes: This story comes from a dream I had. It's a blatant Mary-Sue from the boring!angst! kind, I know, but I had to get it out of my chest. And before I embarrass myself any further, I finish this part by saying that some of the things are from real life, which sucks.

Disclaimer: Remus Lupin and all things/persons/places related to the Harry Potter series belong to J. K. Rowling. Only the character of Constance Leery belongs to me, and it does depict some sides of my life, though awfully distorted and angstified.

T H E

R I G H T

T H I N G

by Linwenilid

ooo

It was a beautiful park. Just around the corner from Constance's house, a large extension of gardens and trees surrounded a fountain, the water sparkling with green and golden, taking in the reflections of artificial jets of light at the bottom. There were scattered benches here and there, a good number of children playing on their bicycles, skateboards and the like, a merry couple embracing each other, minding their own business under the light of the setting sun, a few old people, feeding the doves …

And Constance.

The girl was nearly unrecognizable. The last time Remus had seen her, she was barely five feet and two inches tall, and kept on asking him to lend her his wand, "to wave around as mummie does", she had said. But now, it was obvious she had become taller, judging by the large space her legs, half-folded towards her mid-section, occupied in a solitary bench. She didn't seem to have noticed the man walking to her, smiling serenely and, if barely, sadly, until he was a couple of feet away.

"Remus! You came!" She said, upon looking up and finding the kind gaze of her godfather pouring down on her, and slid out of the bench, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face on his shoulder. Remus gave a start; he didn't expect her to be so effusive on her demonstrations of affection, after all the time he had been away, but when she didn't let go of him, he hugged her awkwardly around the waist, patting her back in a feeble consolation, and noticed she was crying.

"Oh, dear ..." He said, and let his embrace transmit his deep concern, holding her tightly and leaning down his head to her shoulder. She noticed this, and hugged him harder, her hands crumpling into fists. It brought a very intense emotion, a despairing feeling into Remus' chest, to stand there, so close to her and not being able to do a single thing to ease her pain, and for a moment, he forgot why was he there, as he slid a caressing hand down her long, black hair in a hopeful attempt to make her feel she wasn't alone.

When her tears finally subsided, she pulled herself together and let go of an overwhelmed Remus. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her sweater, and flattened her hair awkwardly.

"Sorry, sorry about this, I'm just ..." She said hastily, trying nervously to smile. Remus held her shoulders and smiled into her face, reassuringly. "It's alright, you're with a friend, remember?" He said softly, trying to steer the conversation to those old days of bliss, in which a curious and chatting little Connie would grab his hand to cross the street to the ice-cream parlor.

Constance chuckled, and almost gave way to another session of sobbing, as the very same memory had assaulted her, but restrained the feeling with a supreme effort, and slid her arm around her godfather's right one. "What about some ice-cream?" She asked shyly, looking at him with a feeble smile attempting to look mischievous. Remus was gladly up to the treat, so they headed away from the park's noisy joy to find a quiet place to talk.

It was not really hard to see why Constance had been crying. About half-an-hour earlier, Remus had stepped on the Leerys' doorstep, and knocked on the door for rather a good while, until a scruffy-looking youngster of about fifteen had opened the door.

"Who are you?" He had asked with a sleepy voice. The young boy did seem to have been taking a very long nap, and upon closer inspection, he was still wearing pajamas.

"Timothy? Hi, I'm Constance's godfather, Remus, I don't think you remember me ..." The young boy groaned and walked away from the door, leaving it open. Remus pondered for a mere second if this was an invitation to enter, and followed the boy inside.

"You dirty boy! Still sleeping this late, lazy bugger! Put on some proper clothes quickly, young man, or there'll be trouble for you!" A sharp, high-pitched voice called out as its owner walked down the stairs from the upper floor. Alicia Leery, Constance's mother was a bad-tempered woman; upon her marriage with Douglas Leery, on account of Constance's upcoming, she had developed bitterness against family life, but she'd more likely be found dead in her bedroom than admitting it. It was clear, though, to the few family friends that she never got used to the idea of being tied to a husband and kids, and that she took it on her immediate relations.

"Ah, Alicia, it's so nice to see you, after all this time," Remus said stepping forwards to stretch hands with the woman. A faint discomfort wrinkled the woman's forehead, but she repressed it quickly and smiled widely.

"Remus! It's been so long!" She met his outstretched hand, and shook it a bit too strongly. "I'm so sorry about Timothy, but you know, teenagers ..."

"Never you mind about that, dear Alice." Remus waved the issue aside, and took the seat Alicia offered with a hand motion, looking nonchalantly around the living room.

It was a dark place. Apparently, the curtains hadn't been opened for a long time, and a moderately thick layer of dust covered the centre table and the china figures on it. Those are really ugly figures, Remus thought distractedly, and wondered why would Alice keep them in public display. The ugliest one depicted a deformed-looking gnome, holding a large carp on one hand and something resembling a hook on the other. They were clearly supposed to represent a rough fishing scene, but apparently the artist had overdone it on the 'rough' part.

"So, how's life been?" Alicia asked in a business-like manner, conjuring lazily a couple of glasses and a bottle of firewhisky out of thin air.

"I've been fine, thank you very much. Tough job, being on the good side, you know." He said, accepting the drink and sipping lightly. Alicia drank down the contents of her glass, and refilled it with clear expertise.

"Yes, indeed it is. Me, for example." She said, drinking avidly from her glass. "I work my arse around the clock to get this family's hot meals on time, and what do I get? A lazy bum for a son, and a disrespectful daughter, whose whereabouts I don't even know ... Constance! Get down here to say hello to your godfather!" She cried out, looking at the stairs. Remus shifted uncomfortably on his seat, and straightened up, leaving his full glass on the table. Alice noticed his discomfort, and pulled herself together. "But of course, you don't want to hear the rambling of a tired woman, do you?" She asked apologetically, and finished her second glass of firewhisky.

"In fact, I was here to see Constance. Is she here?" He asked, in vain, as there hadn't been any answer to Alicia's earlier shout.

"She should be," Alicia answered annoyed, and rose from her chair. "Timothy! Tell Constance to get down here now!" She shouted again in a very unpleasant way.

"Tell her yourself!" A breaking male voice trailed down to the living room, muffled by his bedroom's closed door.

"You little ungrateful ..." Alicia stalked up the stairs, albeit slightly tipsily. "Don't talk to me like that, young man!" Her voice came down from the upper floor, followed by the distinct sound of the door slamming open.

"She's ou- bloody damn, that hurt! Stop it- ouch! Dad!" A low, male voice mingled with the ruckus and the shrill voice of Alicia grew louder.

"He's not talking properly to me! I'm his mother, he must respect me!" She cried, as the male voice said something barely audible, and the teenager mumbled something that seemed to decrease his mother's anger.

"She's out for a walk," Alicia said to Remus as she walked down the stairs. "At the park, probably, around the corner from here." She strode to the front door and pulled it open as though she wanted to break it out of its hinges.

"Probably it's best," said Remus, sliding before her and out of the house, "if I go and find her alone. You know, to make her see good reason and that." He lied shamelessly. Alicia was a bit shocked about his subtle invitation to remain behind, but didn't say anything as she nodded, approvingly. "See you in a bit." Remus said, and walked down the entrance stairs.

"And tell her to stop sobbing about those bloody cats," Alicia's voice trailed down, after him. "We did what was best, and that's that."

Remus' heart sank at her words. For the life of him, he would never understand how some people could be so compassionless…

In his mind, Constance's last letter to him repeated on and on, nudging his discomfort with her parents' managing of their household.

They killed my cat's offspring, Remus. And didn't turn a hair when I told them I already had a home for each of them …