First
On the night everything changes, Remus eats his first box of chocolate. It's a shiny, cream colored case with the golden words, "Honeyduke's Limited Edition Fizzy Salted Caramel Filling Chocolates" magically dancing on the front, and he gorges himself on the sweets before bed. He's not yet five-years-old, so when his father, Lyall Lupin finds him in the closet with 3/4 of the box's contents smeared on his chubby face in an un-mannerly fashion, the only reaction Remus is met with is a sigh and the order to brush his teeth twice. (He only brushes one-and-a-half times to leave some of the chocolate-y taste in his mouth, but by the end of the night, it's the least of his worries.)
The shining of the full moon, the sharp odor of vicious teeth, and brief flashes of light from the tip of a wand protecting a child are all Remus remembers from the night, and his first box of chocolate is all but a faint wisp of sweetness overshadowed by frantic yelling and danger.
Chocolate fanatics should never forget their first taste of the sweet, but Remus does.
Second
Remus doesn't particularly care for the taste of Limited Edition chocolates anymore. It's not logical to buy, as they're more expensive than the common chocolates, and what's the use of the Limited Edition part? It's not like the sweets are collectable like other limited edition products are, because right after they pass through your mouth, only you know what has passed through your gullet is a limited edition chocolate and not some other chocolate. The only way to prove it is the box, and why would any sane person keep an empty box in their already cramped flat just to prove to any passerby that two weeks ago they had stuffed themselves with unlogically expensive chocolates? No, he was better off without that useless splurge.
But, who cares about money in times of war?
Which is how Remus finds himself splayed across his threadbare couch alone except for a flat, circular Honeyduke's box in his lap. Like how fellow wizards drowned their sorrows in the depth of a rum bottle, Remus drowned his in the seasonal flavors of "Honeyduke's Limited Edition Seasonal Chocolates: Find The Flavors of Each Season in Each Sweet!" Tomorrow would be the Halloween of 1981, marking another holiday without the Marauders and Lily.
A Sleeping Draught would do wonders, he thinks, as he downs his last vial along with another chocolate.
Maybe he'll see James and Lily tomorrow when he visits with Peter.
And his mouth explodes with the taste of autumn and falling leaves as he drifts off.
Third
Happy endings rarely do happen, but Remus thinks he has finally found his. Although it was unspoken in the past, the Marauders had always unconsciously expected that James would have the best life, followed by Sirius, Peter, and finally Remus. But that was before the war.
Now, James is merely a picture in a book, Sirius only immortalized in the newspaper, Peter quite possibly dead as a traitor, and Remus, the last of them with a wife, son, and the last of his days to live to the fullest. Maybe after the final battle, he'll buy a box of "Honeyduke's Limited Edition Exploding Butterbeer-filled Chocolates" for Teddy(when he was old enough, of course), and make sure he never forgot about his first taste of chocolate.
Maybe…
Maybe…
Maybe…
Author's Note:
Word Count: 580
Written for Hogwarts School of Challenges and Assignments:
Assignment 1:
Mythology
Task 11: Write about protecting a child from danger