This is written for the 'One Character Competition- Round Five' by the Cheeky Slytherin Lass on the HPFF.
Prompt: Write 1,000 words with your quote and one of your prompts. Mine were as follows: We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.- Oscar Wilde, prompts: wish, bruise, best
Word Count of the Drabble Itself: 1,017 words.
Author's Note: Anything that can relate to Remus in the slightest inspires me. He is so easy to know as a character, but I enjoyed exploring him and his soft side more in this oneshot. I hope you enjoy it too!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or the characters in it. All prompts were provided by the Cheeky Slytherin Lass.
Enjoy, and God Bless!
Remus clutched his side as he walked down the street. His steps were heavy and tired, and his eyes were drooping from sleep deprivation.
It had been a rough full moon.
He lifted his head slightly, ignoring the pain in his neck and trying to see what was in front of him, but all that lied there was blur. Everything was blurry and unclear; his head was fuzzy and his thoughts were jumbled. Every piece of him seemed to be falling apart. He let out a quiet moan as he all but fell to the ground to lean against the grimy wall of the alleyway. The lamplight above him cast an eerie, yellow shadow down on him and he closed his eyes to avoid the light that seemed too bright to him. He swallowed thickly, pushing down the painful, dry feeling and coating his throat with blood tinged saliva. He shivered involuntarily, pulling his torn cloak tighter around his body. There were many things he needed right then: a glass of water, warmer clothes, a pillow to rest his head on…He could go so far as to say a slab of his favorite chocolate.
But if there was one thing that Remus really needed, it was a warm home.
A heater; a roof, even, would suffice. He could sleep on the floor without a pillow. He could swallow thickly all night and coat his throat with natural spit and blood. But if he had a home- just four walls and a roof- he would feel loved and safe for once. Remus's head lulled to the side and he let his eyes flutter under his lids. Jolting awake merely seconds after beginning to fall into slumber, he heaved a heavy sigh and stared up at the black sky above him. The vastness of the universe lied there, far away and unreachable, and he adored it.
The moon had ruined many things for him, but he wouldn't let it ruin the night sky. He loved to watch the stars- loved to count them for as long as he could keep track- and loved to watch them move so slowly around the sky. He smiled slightly as he stared, blood trickling from the side of his mouth.
"We are all in the gutter, son. But some of us…Some of us are looking at the stars."
His father had said it many times, assuring him that life wasn't as difficult as Remus thought it to be sometimes. He never understood it, though; never fully grasped it until now. It was now when he was in his own gutter, with his father long gone, that he finally comprehended what that statement meant. It was hard, yes, he couldn't deny that. But it was doable. He had dreams- stars- that kept him going. He had goals and plans that he may never achieve, but that he fiercely hoped to. He spent most of his time looking at the stars because his father had encouraged it. His dad had always told him to stay alert and aware of the good that was right in his grasp. He had always promised his only child that when things seemed down, he need only look up. Remus had always taken that statement to mean looking at the sky; looking for that constant reminder that there was more to life than meandering around and hoping you stumble your way into something good. Remus knew that you had to look for something good. You had to want it.
He deeply wanted it- the acceptance, the job, the family- and he would get it.
One day.
One day it would all be his.
And one day, instead of looking at the stars…He would be holding the stars in his hands.
It had been years since the night he spent lying on the street. It had been years since he spent time homeless and starving. He had achieved a job since then and he had loved every moment of teaching those innocent, bright children. He had gotten a home- a small, homely flat that housed all of his chocolate, all of his books, and all of his pictures; framed memories. It was what he was staring at now, though, that warmed his heart the most.
He watched his small family with quiet adoration. One leg rested over the other, holding a folded book over his knee, he observed his young wife and infant son. Teddy giggled under his mother's expert fingers- tickling him and torturing him- as he rolled around on the floor. Tonks looked up at Remus when she relented- giving their son a break- and her eyes sparkled.
"What are you looking at, old man?" She laughed.
He shook his head then, ignoring her comment and standing to set his book on the coffee table before joining his family on the floor. Crossing his legs and ignoring the moon's aftereffects, he pulled Tonks close and gave his son another quick tickle.
This…this was his ultimate star. This was the supernova; the one, sparkling beauty that could hide the moon…The only star that could light his life bright enough to remove the aches and pains…
His family.
They were all he needed, all he had ever needed, and all he would ever need forevermore.
"You're staring again." Tonks stated, rubbing their son's back.
"I'm staring at you; at him."
"You act like you're infatuated by us." She ventured, smiling slightly before glancing down at their child.
"That's because I am," he mused, pulling her into his lap. "I am infatuated."
"Are we more interesting than your books?"
"Much."
"More devoted than you are to the Order?"
"Your devotion to me shines through every day."
"Are we worth it?" She whispered.
"Worth what?" He asked, his brows furrowed.
"The heartache; the worry that you had over hurting Teddy and I…Are we worth that?"
"There is no heartache," he assured. "I feel nothing but love with you both."
Tonks smiled and settled against his chest.
"You are my stars," he mumbled against her hair. "I love you both to the moon and back."