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One Shot 1: After all these years

August 16, 1971

"Hey, let me see!" Six year old Connor Gamp made a grab for his eleven year old sister's wand, but his mother gently pulled him back, giving him a rather stern look.

"That's Eve's wand, Connor. Besides, you're too young to hold one." Mrs. Gamp let go of her son when it seemed like he wouldn't make another move to snatch it out of his older sister's hand.

Connor huffed. "Why does Eve get a wand, but I don't? I want one too!"

"That's enough, Connor Marcus Gamp!" their father said in a very firm tone. "When you turn eleven and receive your Hogwarts letter like your sister, then you'll get your own wand. But until then, I don't want to catch even thinking about trying to think of taking Eve's wand."

"You know that having a wand is all that's going to be on his mind now?" Eve spoke up, her lips twitching in amusement as she admired her new wand. While in Ollivanders, she'd gone through a lot of wands, many of them backfiring and leaving quite a mess in the shop and others just not feeling quite right. That is, until she was handed a wand that was ten and three-quarter inches and made of Cedar with a Phoenix Feather core. When she'd touched it, she felt a warmth traveling through her fingertips that she'd never felt before. It felt right in her hand, like a piece of her that had been missing for eleven years had finally come home.

The rest of the shops weren't as exciting as Ollivanders, but she did try to drag her parents into Quality Quidditch Supplies to look at broomsticks. In her opinion, it wasn't fair that first years weren't allowed broomsticks.

"I promise, you can have a broom next year," Mrs. Gamp reassured her daughter, who was now lightly pouting.

Mr. Gamp clapped a hand on Eve's shoulder. "She's going to need a good one too if she's going to be on the Gryffindor team just like I was," he boasted proudly.

Eve fought the urge to roll her eyes. "But I might not be in Gryffindor." She didn't know why her dad was so obsessed with her getting into a certain House.

"Nonsense, of course you will be! You take after your old man of course!"

Mrs. Gamp shook her head. "Philip, whatever House our daughter ends up in, we'll support her no matter what, right?" she admonished him.

Mr. Gamp merely nodded, but still gave his daughter a meaningful look. It was his dream that both of his children would end up in Gryffindor. Before he could utter another sound, his wife let out a noise of excitement.

"Hope...Lyall?" The rest of the family found themselves following her as they approached a family of three that, for some reason, looked familiar to Eve, although she couldn't exactly put her finger on why.

"Ingrid?" The woman named Hope's lips curled into a wide, but nervous smile. "It's been…"

"Seven years!" Mrs. Gamp finished, pulling the light haired woman in for a hug while Mr. Gamp gave Lyall a hearty handshake.

Eve stood back mildly confused and her brother even more so until Hope's brown eyes rested on her. "Why, this can't be young Eve, can it?"

The young girl gave a small smile, but her eyes soon turned to the boy standing between the man and woman. He stood a few inches taller and appeared to be around her age. Her own blue-green eyes traveled over his pale features, stopping to stare into his light-green eyes that looked so familiar at her. It was only when they crinkled slightly at the corners that she realized who she was staring at.

"R-Remus?" He had grown taller and his features had changed with age, but there was no denying those eyes and the way they would crinkle at the corners when he appeared to be in deep thought. That appeared to be something that would never change.

Lyall squeezed his son's shoulder. "You remember Eve, don't you, Remus?" He chuckled. "Well, I suppose it has been a while. You two haven't seen each other since you were around four." Eve could've sworn she saw an expression of guilt pass over his face before it disappeared as he turned his attention to Connor. "Who's this young man?"

Eve, however, had started tuning out the rest of the conversation as she stared at Remus. He was no longer looking at her. Instead, he was looking down at his beat up shoes, his light brown hair falling over his eyes. It wasn't just the lost years that made him seem different, it was something else. But Eve couldn't exactly put her finger on it.

Early 1965

"Eve, wait up!" Remus huffed as he ran after the pigtailed haired girl. "We're not supposed to go into those woods, our parents said so!"

Eve merely giggled and twirled around, her light blue dress twirling around her and her two braids whipping around her face. "We might find some really interesting creatures though like Newt Scamander! Don't you want to find a Centaur or a Graphorn?"

Not wanting to be left behind, Remus followed her as she climbed over the wooden fence that lined the woods. "But there's nothing like that in these woods, Eve, only foxes, wolves, and rabbits mostly."

Eve shook her head, putting her hands on her hips. "But we haven't explored all of these woods. I bet if we go deeper, we'll find loads of different creatures!"

Remus looked back towards the row of houses that made up the small town Eve and he lived in. Part of him wanted to drag Eve back with him, but another part, the more adventurous side of him did want to see what they could find. In the end, one side won over the other.

"Okay, but just until lunchtime," he agreed.

Eve grinned and took his hand, leading him deeper into the forest. "Deal!"

A few hours later…

"I wanted to find a centaur," Eve pouted huffily as Remus and she climbed back over the fence. "Maybe they only come out at night?"

"Or maybe there aren't any in this forest?" Remus suggested as Eve helped him over the fence.

"There are and I'm going to find them!" Eve could be known for her stubbornness at times. "I'll even take a picture!"

Remus didn't want to agree or disagree, so he changed the subject. "Hey, you're coming to my birthday party, right?"

Eve giggled. "Remy, your birthday isn't for another three weeks, silly!"

The young boy blushed when Eve referred to him as the nickname she often called him. "I know, but I just wanted to invite you early."

Eve squeezed his hand. "Yup and I'll bring you the best present ever! You're going to have a chocolate cake, aren't you?"

"It's the only cake in the world to have." Remus grinned at the fact that his friend also shared the same love for chocolate like he did.

When they reached Eve's home, her mother was waiting with a furious expression on her face. "You went into the forest again didn't you?"

Eve tried her best to look innocent, but she was unable to fool her mother who was very good at seeing through her facial lies. "How many times do I have to tell you not to go wandering around in there?"

"But we didn't go far, Mum."

"I don't want you even taking half a step in there. When your father gets home, we're going to sit down and have a discussion about your lack of respect for the rules."

"But Mum-" Eve began to complain.

"Don't 'but Mum' me. Now, tell Remus good-bye and wash up for lunch. I'll be upstairs in a minute to get the grass stains out of your dress.

Eve looked down at the blue dress and shrugged. She didn't know what was wrong with a bit of grass. Still, she knew better than to further incur her mother's wrath and turned to Remus. "I'll see you tomorrow!" She waved cheerfully before pulling him in for a hug.

Once Remus was gone, Eve hurried upstairs. She really couldn't wait to play with him again.

Two weeks later...

Eve couldn't believe that she would have to miss Remus' party. Unfortunately, she would be visiting her grandparents at that time. They'd gotten tickets to a Quidditch Match between the Kenmare Kestrals and the Montrose Magpies. Both were teams that Eve liked, but she hated the thought of having to miss Remus' party because of it.

After a bit of arguing with her parents, Eve was allowed to stop by Remus' house in hopes of giving him his birthday presents early. Mr. and Mrs. Lupin were sure to let her in. As she carried the wrapped packages, she thought of what Remus' reaction would be when he opened the box of chocolate frogs and the first edition copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, signed by Newt Scamander, himself! Eve had her own copy at home and now Remu would have his own.

She expected to be greeted with smiles when the door was opened, but instead, Remus' mother looked like she'd been crying for hours. Her normally warm and cheerful light brown eyes were red around the edges, paired with dark circles making it clear that she hadn't slept in quite a few days.

"Hi, Mrs. Lupin." Eve smiled. "Is Remus home?"

Mrs. Lupin's voice cracked slightly as she began to speak, but she cleared her throat and spoke more smoothly. "I'm afraid he's a little under the weather, dear."

Eve frowned, hating the thought of her friend being sick. "Oh, well can I please just see him for five minutes? I only want to give him his birthday presents early. My grandparents got tickets to a Quidditch match between the Magpies and the Kestrals and I won't be able to make his party because my grandparents also want to spend extra time with me after that."

Mrs. Lupin wanted to say something, but the sound of her husband's voice pulled her back inside and she closed the door, leaving Eve standing on the doorstep, more confused than she'd ever been in her life. She was so used to them letting her inside the minute they saw her. What was wrong? Was Remus contagious? Was that why his mum was so reluctant to let her inside?

She wished she could hear what was being said, but the voices were muffled. After a few minutes, Mrs. Lupin opened the door again. "I'm sorry, dear. I don't think it's a good idea for you to see Remus right now. I don't want you getting sick like him."

"Oh…" Eve's shoulders dropped and she couldn't hide her disappointment no matter how hard she tried. "Well, can you at least give him these?" she held out the two gifts, which Mrs. Lupin took.

"Of course, dear." She smiled, but to Eve it seemed forced. "Give your mum and dad my love."

For a second, Eve wanted to push past her and rush upstairs to see Remus for herself. She had a nagging feeling that Mrs. Lupin wasn't being completely honest with her. But in the end, Eve said her goodbyes and left them. Little did she know, that fun day in the forest was the last day she would ever see Remus Lupin for many years.

She came back from her grandparents about three days after Remus' birthday. The first thing she did was go to Remus' house, hoping to tell him all about the Quidditch Map and to give him the souvenirs she'd bought for him: a Kestrals Flag and a tiny toy Shooting Star that actually flew around. She also couldn't wait to ask him how he'd liked his presents and if there was maybe at least one small slice of cake left.

But when Eve reached the Lupin's residence, she saw a 'For Sale' sign on the front lawn. Were they really moving. Yet, when Eve peered into one of the windows that didn't have the shades drawn, she discovered with a heavy heart that the furniture was gone. The Lupins weren't in the process of moving, they'd already left.

That day had left Eve confused, sad, angry, scared, and feeling betrayed. Why did they move and why hadn't Remus said anything? Had he known for a while, but not said anything? She'd asked her parents and a few residents around town, but none of them could answer the one question she had. Even sending letters had proved useless as she didn't receive a reply.

Eve ended up making other friends throughout her years and thoughts of Remus Lupin faded until he was just a thought in the back of her head that usually popped up before she went to bed or whenever she was reading. As she grew older, she became somewhat used to the fact that she may never see him again.

At least, that's what she thought until that day in Diagon Alley.

Back to today

The two families headed into The Magical Menagerie, mostly for Eve to get a pet like her parents promised she could have. The four adults appeared to be catching up on the years they'd missed and Connor seemed more interested in the toads, but Eve grabbed hold of Remus' wrist and pulled him over to where a small litter of baby Kneazles were playing.

"All these years...you never wrote to me?" Eve asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

Remus kicked at the floor. "I didn't know what to say."

"That's all you can come up with?" Eve swallowed the lump in her throat. "I haven't seen you in six years! I thought something bad might have happened to you and your family. Do you have any ideas how many owls I sent you? I probably wrote you five letters a week!"

"I'm sorry…"

"You have no idea how much I missed you, Remy." Remus abruptly looked up when she called him by the nickname that he hadn't heard in so long. She could've sworn the corners of his lips turned up and her anger slowly faded. As much as she wanted to demand answers from him about why he had moved and what he had been doing for so many years, she knew that those questions could be saved for another day. He definitely wasn't off the hook.

"Help me pick one out?" she asked, pointing to the Kneazle kittens. Remus seemed to almost sigh in relief as the two of them knelt down to play with the adorable potential pets and spoke quietly to one another. In the end, Eve walked out of the Menagerie holding a carrier with a small black Kneazle that she'd picked out because his light green eyes reminded her so much of Remus'. She also decided to name him Loki because of his mischievous nature when Remus and she were playing with him in the shop.

All too soon, Eve had gotten all of her school supplies and Remus and she were forced to go their separate ways. Even though she'd been so happy to see him, she was left wondering if they could continue their friendship right where they left off, or if everything had changed for the worst. One thing was for certain, though. With Remus also attending Hogwarts that September, the chances of him leaving without warning again was very slim. At least, that's what she hoped.