Coffee Hearts

*Modern AU

As a young girl with a dream to write, Mina didn't realise the pressure and hard-work that would go into being a Journalist for the Daily Prophet. It was hard gruelling work but it brought out another side of her that she hadn't known she had before. A side of passion, compassion and a willingness to help others, to tell their stories, but most importantly to be a bringer of the truth.

Now in her early twenties, it was starting to settle into her how real this adult world was. No more did she have the security of being a student at Hogwarts, or having the comfort of living at home with her parents. It was all real now. She was living on her own and managing bills now that she had a full-time job with the Prophet. She had joined the Daily Prophet fresh out of Hogwarts and completed a two year intensive internship travelling the magical globe, getting experience in all sorts of areas til she was lucky enough to find herself back in London, her home town.

Now that she was a regular columnist writing about various breaking news spreads and even some heart-felt pieces regarding that of the Wizarding Community she felt like she had found her passion. Though it was amazing to be abroad, she was glad to be home and excited to see her friends once more. Her social life had been seriously lacking when she was overseas.

But she wouldn't be able to do it without her best friends and their supply of coffee. If there was one thing that you could count on, it was Mina drinking at least half her body weight in caffeine daily to keep herself going.

Mina buried her face in her cream woollen scarf and walked into the Marauders Map, a bookstore and coffee shop in one that the four boys had opened up after graduating from Hogwarts. They still all did their own stuff on the side, but they ran this store together in their free time. It was a lovely idea and Mina had been getting her coffee from there ever since they opened. She was glad because it meant she had an excuse to see her favourite people all the time.

She walked into the quaint store, escaping the chilling London weather as it just began to pour down with rain outside. A jingle sound filled her ears as she walked in, the door closing behind her with a click. The smell of fresh coffee beans mixed in with a soft sweet scent of vanilla and cinnamon hit her senses. It felt like home.

"Mina!" James yelled with excitement as he spotted his friend. He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and rushed to give her a hug. Mina was like his little sister and he was stoked to see her.

"Thank you so much for those Puddlemere United tickets," James said as he gave her a tight hug. "Lily absolutely loved it! It was the perfect anniversary gift."

Mina smiled. "I'm so glad," Mina laughed as she returned the warm hug. "Did you find the seats suitable?"

"Suitable?" James scoffed, crossing his arms, his denim jacket moving firmly against his taught muscle. "Bloody brilliant in the box office. I don't know how you got your hands on such good seats and last minute too."

"I have my connections." Mina shrugged it off like it was nothing. "Where are the others?"

"Just Remus and I on today."

A smile grew on her face at the mention of Remus being there, her insides filled with a feeling of warmth at the thought of seeing him so soon. She hadn't seen him in at least a month, not since she got back from a trip abroad in Tokyo.

"He's down at the back, fixing some pipes under the sink. Go on through, I know you're desperate to see the love of your life."

Her cheeks heated up at his teasing.

"Sod off, Potter." Mina punched him in the shoulder but walked on through to the back where it was quiet, save the occasional curse and grunt.

"Remus?" Her voice called out, resulting in the clang of a spanner hitting the ground and Remus popping out from underneath the sink where he had been fixing pipes.

He had a little bit of dirt on his fitted white tee, but other than that he looked as though he had walked off a model runway. His hair was shorter, far shorter than she had ever seen it before on him and it looked… good. Her heart felt lighter in her chest when she saw a grin lift on his lips upon seeing her. She couldn't take her eyes off him. Remus Lupin was a god damn handsome wizard.

"Mina," Remus breathed out before walking over to her and wrapping her up in a tight hug. She felt like she was flying when he had her arms around her. She giggled-something she didn't usually do- and returned the hug with equal enthusiasm. It felt like the missing piece of the puzzle when she held him close. Good god she was in love with him.

"It's so good to see you, Moony, it's been too long."

"Godric knows it," Remus laughed as he stood back to look at her, squinting his eyes. "There's something different about you."

"I wonder what it could be."

"You cut your hair," Remus said, reaching out to grab a strand of dark hair between his fingers. "It's shorter than it used to be."

"I could say the same about you." She just didn't tell him that his shorter brown hair made her want to jump him the moment she saw him. Because that would be quite embarrassing, not to mention it would most likely ruin their friendship. She swallowed down the urge to scream at how fit he looked and instead tried to focus on something else.

He shrugged. "I guess it was time for change."

"Great minds think alike, huh."

Remus grabbed a tea towel and wiped his hands on it before moving towards the café side of things. He slipped on a black apron from the waist down, the contrast nice against his dark washed denim jeans and began to make up her favourite brew. She sat herself down on a stool in front of him and rested her cheek in her hand as she watched him so effortlessly glide across the kitchen, creating a masterpiece that she was most excited to consume.

"What brings you here today?"

She bit her lip. "The usual."

"Coffee and my good company?" Remus suggested and she laughed, deciding not to answer his question truthfully.

If only you knew.

"Are you sure you're not psychic?" She joked.

"No, only borderline psychotic," He joked with a wink that made her heart beat that little bit faster.

"How was your trip?"

"It was great, I loved it. I got to visit some places mum grew up in but other than that I just wanted to be back home." She also mentioned she wanted to show Remus all the photos she had taken as well. The beauty of muggle smart-phones.

"Yeah, I guess what they say is true. Home is where the heart is."

And my heart is with you.

She bit her tongue to stop those words from rolling off her lips and instead gave Remus a polite smile.

"Been busy?" She asked.

"It's been alright, we've expanded the bookstore, added in a little library with some more couches and an extra reading space."

She did note that the place looked less crowded, but also warmer. The lighting change did wonders and it gave the café side a warm feeling, like you were enjoying a coffee at home in front of the fireplace. It had a great aesthetic to it.

"That sounds great, I'd love to check it out. I need to find a new spot to work on my writing."

"You mean other than that booth in the corner where you can see the entire store," Remus laughed.

And you.

"Yeah, it might be time for a change, you know."

Though she desperately didn't want that to happen, she had a feeling that this would never work out… it didn't really seem like Remus was interested in her, at least to her it didn't. Was it worth it to pine over someone who may never love you back? At least not in the way you want them to? Was it better to just move on?

"You ok there?" Remus asked and she realised that he had been talking to her this entire time. Her cheeks flushed red and she apologised.

"Huh? Sorry, just got lost in my thoughts," Mina lied. "What did you say?"

"I just said that the gangs getting together tonight for a drink at The Three Broomsticks, want to join? We're meeting there at eight?"

"Yeah, that sounds great."

It seemed as though the universe was working against her. Mina had spent the night out with her friends drinking and jeering til the late hours of the morning only to hit home and realise she had a deadline due by the end of the week and no story ready to hit the papers.

That's how she found herself sitting in a booth with a pair of dark sunglasses and drinking her fourth cup of coffee for the morning as she tried to fight a raging hangover and work on her new story. Papers were all around her, a few stray pens too and she was sure she looked like an absolute nightmare.

"Should I be concerned about how much caffeine you're ingesting?" Remus asked as he pulled up a chair across from her. She looked up at him and realised there was no way she was ever going to be able to move on from Remus since her body was practically drawn to him all the time. He was such a big part of her life she wouldn't be able to say goodbye.

She sighed and then took off her glasses, rubbing at her eyes.

"No," She dragged before downing the rest of her cup of coffee. "You should know by now that's how I usually function."

He grinned and her heart soared. Who knew you could get high off someone's smile.

"Did you take the hangover potion I left for you on your bedside table last night?"

"That was you?"

She had indeed taken it this morning and it had helped with most of the hangover, but she was still nursing an insane headache which was most likely stress induced and not from the copious amounts of alcohol she had ingested last night on a bet with Sirius and Lily. Those two were a really bad influence on her.

"Yeah, I brought you home. Don't you remember?"

He had offered if he was being honest. He wanted to spend more time with Mina even if it was in that state. So he had apparated them to her apartment where he then got her settled into bed, placing the potion on her beside along with some water and pain killers. Muggle medicine did wonders, he knew that all too well.

"Frankly, no. That was the first time I've been properly drunk in a long time. I barely remember climbing into bed."

"That's because you were clinging to me like I was your teddy bear."

"Sorry," She apologised sheepishly.

"Don't apologise, it's not like I didn't like it." Remus suddenly realised what he had said and his cheeks turned a bright pink. He coughed and then changed the subject quickly to ask Mina what her story was about which then got her running wild on a tangent, using it too as a way to distract herself from the handsome man in front of her mentioning that he liked the way she had clung to him last night.

Dear oh dear this fine line was beginning to get harder to tread.

The shop of the door then dinged open and more customers came through, this time a group of three young teenage girls, bouncing with laughter as they took a table nearby.

"Looks like I have to get back to work," Remus said, standing up and straightening his black apron and plucking out his notepad and pen. "Anything I can get you before I help them out?"

"No, thank you. I think I've had enough coffee for this morning," Mina said.

"I think you've had enough for a lifetime. I won't be too long."

That's what he had said, but nearly an hour later and the group of three girls were still occupying his time. They had even then asked him to give them a tour of the bookstore and the new added section of the library.

Mina wasn't that petty that she would outwardly glare at three teenage girls who happened to gain the attention of Remus out of pure jealousy. No, that's exactly what she was doing and she hated herself for it, but she couldn't help herself.

Remus was a catch and of course she wouldn't be the only one interested in him. But she was selfish and protective and the fact that he was paying such ardent attention to them made her stomach churn. It was to the point that she could no longer focus on her work and was about to leave to head off to her apartment when Sirius slid in the booth next to her, dusting off his own apron that had some flour on it.

Sirius pointed his nose in the air and sniffed dramatically once and then twice.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it smells like there's some jealousy in the air," Sirius said, looking over at her with raised brows. She honestly couldn't tell if he was being serious with the whole sniffing thing.

"I'm not jealous because the person I have a humongous crush on is flirting with somebody else. I'm just being- fine, jealous," She tried to deny it, but there was no hiding it anymore.

Sirius had known for a while that Mina was head over heels for Remus, but he had kept it a quiet secret since they had left Hogwarts.

"It's just a bunch of teenage girls, I'm sure Remus doesn't care," Sirius said as Mina moped hopelessly over her empty notebook.

"He's there for over thirty minutes," She said deadpanned, running a hand through her hair.

"His body might have been there for over thirty minutes but he's been staring at you for the last five that I've been around so I wouldn't worry too much little bird," Sirius said.

When she looked back at Remus he was looking away and she turned to Sirius with a glare. "No he's not."

"Okay, so he wasn't, but he did look over here once, I swear it. Besides he talks about you enough, it's obvious that he likes you more than a friend," Sirius told her.

Her head shot up and she looked at Sirius, fiddling nervously with her pen. "He talks about me?" She asked with a hopeful tone.

"More than he would like to admit," Sirius said. "You know how he's always been about relationships. He thinks he's a monster."

She shook her head, heart falling in her chest. "He's not. Godric knows he's not."

"Godric knows what?"

She nearly screamed when Remus appeared next to their table where the two friends had been conversing quietly.

"Uh-nothing," Mina managed to squeak out.

"You finished with your groupies over there?" Sirius teased.

Remus took a seat next to Mina. "Oh god, they haven't left me alone the entire time."

"Want me to take them off your hands?" Sirius asked, glancing at his watch. It was nearly time for his shift to start anyway.

"Please."

Remus sighed leaning back into the booth, practically hiding behind Mina's form. "Long day, huh?"

"Yeah."

She looked him over once more, this time taking special effort to notice the dark circles forming under his eyes and the obvious tension in his face.

"Is it already that time of the month?" Mina asked in a soft voice as not to have anyone over hear her words.

"How'd you know?"

"Instinct," She said. "You need an extra hand tonight?"

"I've got Padfoot and Prongs coming over."

"So I'll be waiting for you after," Mina said with a nod. "Your place?"

He looked at her with soft eyes that made her melt. "You don't have to."

"I'm going to be there."

He sighed but gave her a warm smile. "My place."

She gave him a smile before then looking at her watch. "I better go. I'll see you later tonight." She packed up her things with the flick of her wand and leaned over, pressing a kiss to Remus's cheek. She wasn't sure why she did that but when she saw the pink tint on his cheeks that surely matched her own she felt pride bloom in her chest.

Sirius who had witnessed the little exchange before Mina left, walked up to Remus patting him on the back.

"You alright there mate? Lookin' a little pink," Sirius teased, pinching his cheeks.

That seemed to snap Remus out of it and he swatted Sirius's hands away, rubbing at his cheek where Mina had left a soft kissed pressed against his skin.

"Piss off, Padfoot."

Mina forgot to ask Remus for a house key and he had changed his usual hiding spot. She didn't bother trying to break the wards he placed around the quaint apartment, knowing it was far superior magic than her own. So she sat outside his front door until she fell asleep, waiting for him to return after a night of transformation.

She was mumbling in her sleep only waking up when she heard Sirius calling her name.

"Mini!"

"Wh-What! I'm awake." She blinked her eyes open rapidly, looking up to see Sirius holding Remus up. He looked worse than she had seen him in a long time.

"Take Remus, I'll unlock the door," Sirius said, passing him over to Mina.

Mina struggled to hold Remus up, hooking her arm underneath his arm and around his back to keep him up.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, turning her face to look at him. He had a few scratches peeking out of his shirt but nothing on his face which she was grateful for. Those always scarred the worst.

"Absolute shite," Remus managed to get out, closing his eyes for just a moment.

Mina was thankful by this point Sirius had opened the door and come to take Remus off her hands. She helped Sirius get Remus settled in bed, pulling off his shoes for him and getting him changed into something more comfortable.

Sirius helped out getting Remus into some pajama pants but left his shirt off for Mina to tend to a few scratches on his chest.

"Why don't you go home, I'll take care of Moony," She told Sirius as he finished his cup of tea.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. Get some rest."

Sirius gave Mina a hug and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, Mini."

"Night, Moony!" Sirius yelled out, waving goodbye to his buddy who raised a hand lazily from where he was lying in bed.

Mina grabbed her bag and brought it into the room, digging through there to pull out the potions she had prepared earlier. It was one for pain and one to relax Remus's muscles and promote healing.

"Here drink this," Mina said guiding the potion bottle into his mouth. Remus swallowed it with ease, his face instantly relaxing once the potion passed his lips. Mina put the bottle on the side table and brushed away some of his hair from his face.

"My poor Moony," She whispered, brushing her thumb against his cheek. "Feeling better?"

"Yes," He replied.

With Remus now relaxed, she grabbed a bowl and filled it up with warm water, grabbed some towels, bandages and healing oils. Sitting on the edge of his bed, she gently pressed the wet towel against the cuts, whispering soft apologized as she heard him hiss at the contact. Once the wounds were cleaned, she then gently rubbed in healing oils and ointments before bandaging it up, wrapping his chest.

Mina was about to get up once more, to take the bloody towel and bowl to the laundry to clean it out when Remus's hand caught her own.

"Don't go."

"I'm just going to wash up. I'll be back in a minute."

"Promise?"

She brought his hand to her lips pressing a kiss to the back of it.

"Promise."

She pulled out her wand, making quick work of cleaning up before returning to his side with a cup of tea that was sure to soothe him.

"How are you feeling?"

"More put together."

"I'm glad."

"Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me, Remus. You know I'd do anything for you."

"But you shouldn't. You waste so much time on me, I'm not worth it, I'm a m-," She cut him off.

"Monster?" She raised her brow, watching with sad eyes as he avoided her gaze. She tilted his chin up with the pad of her fingertips, urging him to look into her eyes to see the truth as it was.

"Remus you are anything but a monster. Trust me, I've met the real monsters of this world and you aren't one of them."

When he didn't say anything she continued on, anger building up inside of her. She was so sick of Remus thinking that he was bad, that he was some kind of villain, because he was anything but that and she was going to make sure he remembered it.

"You are brave and passionate and strong. But you are also kind and soft and warm. You stand up for what you believe in, you protect your friends and most of all you're selfless. Those are qualities very few can claim lay to. You're my best friend, the one person I can turn to for help and you're the man that I've fallen in love with, so don't you dare say that you're a monster."

It was only after her gentle tirade that she began to realize the words that fell off her lips with ease. She just told him that she loved him. She sat there frozen, unsure of what would happen next. She found it ironic that it was now her who was avoiding his gaze and wanting to curl up in a ball.

"You love me?"

She looked up when he reached out to touch her cheek. She could feel the desperation in his eyes for an answer and thinking with her heart she replied.

"Most ardently."

She grinned when he cracked a smile as well, noting her reference to Pride and Prejudice the very novel that started off their first conversation. It somehow felt fitting.

"I-I love you, too."

There were tears in his eyes, as though Remus never believed that anyone could love him. Mina wiped them away and leaned forward slowly, pressing her lips against his, her eyes fluttering closed as she savored the moment. He tilted his head, moving closer to her as they kissed, hearts racing and warm skin pressed against each other.

They spent the rest of the night sipping on coffee, sharing occasional soft kisses. They were together and all that mattered was that their coffee hearts were warm and satisfied after such a long time.

Authors Note:

So I hope you all liked this. I kind of liked writing this Modern AU twist. They're still wizards/witches but functioning in the muggle world and it's something different. I really liked writing this.

Hope it fills your heart with more love for Remus.

Til next time. – Heroherondale.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, all rights go to J.K. Rowling and respective owners, I only own my own OC and creative genius.