(a/n - Hey guys look it is me! Ages ago when I had time on my hands I went and entered the My Favorite Artists' (Swift, Beatles, Joel) Songs Inspiration Competition (DUE DEC 21)/Challenge by Lara1221. So I had better set about writing it hadn't I? My quote is "I didn't think I'd live to see the day." And the song I chose is Piano Man: considered his absolute greatest hit, it's based on the life a piano player in a bar lounge, and part of it is from Joel's own experiences. A big part of it is the different characters he meets, each unique in their own way, and most with broken dreams. The point is that his music lets them escape reality. / Write about an escape. So I have chosen to write about an escape like the song sort of does, an escape through music [and alcohol but shhh] and after much deliberation I have decided to write it for Remus because I reckon it'll fit quite nicely actually. Yay!)
It's A Pretty Good Crowd For A Saturday
Battered keys, mottled with flecks of dust and stains and the general wear and tear of an old piano. The notes that come out are just as weathered, just as old, but somehow characteristic, melodic, they add a twist of character to the atmosphere in the smoky pub. Muggle pubs, the traditional ones, set back in alleyways, have a distinctive smell of local bitter and cigarette smoke, and the familiar sound of cards being dealt and a piano somewhere in the haze. That's what drew him to them. The smoke, the companionship. The fact that he was wanted there. The piano man. After his exile from the wizarding world, he had wandered the streets, not really knowing what he was doing, just getting tattier and tattier in the process. Then hazy glow of an amber lamp and the sound of laughter had caught his attention, hooked him in. Once inside, the warmth radiated his very bones. With no money to get a drink, he had to make do with drinking in the atmosphere. That was enough though. Every night, he returned. Hooked onto the atmosphere as soon as opening time hit, he was soon friendly with the landlord, who gave him drinks on the house when he found out that he could play the piano. There was a battered old piano at the back of the pub, and it hadn't been played for a long, long time. So the fact that it was going to be filling the room with noise was a massive help to the owner.
His issue was still a major problem though. He needed a potion to help him. He had ample amounts of it about his person, for he had ensured to take lots of vials of it on his travels, contained in his magically expanded pockets. But he still had to be careful. So on the nights of the full moon he disappeared into a nearby area of woodland, where he took the potion and slept until the moon waned or waxed accordingly. Upon his return to the tavern, he was guaranteed to be welcomed by the various locals he was used to seeing now, begging for songs and music and complaining of how his absence created a silence in the mood. And so he would begin again, offering an escape for others, as his fingers in their threadbare fingerless gloves worked over the keys, his hat perched on the piano and a glass of drink alongside it.
He soon became known to the locals as Remmy, The Piano Man. He became happy again whilst he was there, escaping the harsh reality of the lowliness and loneliness he was subjected to in his own world. Amongst muggles, he could smile and laugh and play and sing, as nobody knew his horrendous secret. They never would. Some sense of pride filled him when people brought their friends to listen to his songs, and he spoke to every one of them, ever humble, yet in every sense grateful.
One day in the midst of autumn, when the leaves were blowing in from the trees outside, and the air was thick with frost, he noted how for a Saturday there were many people inside, sheltering or taking respite from the elements outside. He played and played, adding to the thick smoky atmosphere in the pub, allowing people to warm themselves over a mulled wine. It was no firewhisky, granted, but magical drinks were a thing of his past. The wizarding world was behind him. As the crowds shuffled out, he pondered over who was there, and what a lovely autumnal day it had been. A voice sounded close to his shoulder.
"I didn't think I'd live to see the day."
He turned to see who was there - probably another person with broken dreams like his own. They wanted to be sailors, managers, investors, but were stuck in their monotonous roles. He had wanted to succeed: To teach, be an auror, work in the Ministry. But no, he was a piano man in a muggle bar, sharing drinks with strangers as broken spirited as he was. When he turned, he started. A man was leaning on the piano, one who he knew from a previous life, almost. Kingsley walked forward and embraced him warmly.
"Remus Lupin in the flesh! And not a manically depressed wreck! So this is where you've been hiding!" Remus shrugged at the other man's words.
"I wouldn't say where I've been hiding. More, where I've escaped to," he answered simply, realising just how true that was. He didn't think he would see the day where he had found somewhere he could belong safely, at least for a little while, and so the tavern and all of its smoke had provided him with all he needed. Kingsley shook his head softly.
"Remus, I've been searching for you for Merlin knows how long, and I stop in a muggle pub for a pint and you're right under my nose. Unbelievable."
"You've been searching for me?" Remus couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.
"Of course, danger is imminent once more from dark forces. We need you on our side, pal. You're a natural at this sort of thing."
"Me? A natural? But... I am... I... I am..."
"That doesn't matter, we can make you potions or whatever you need. We need you, Remus." Remus' mind whirred at the chance to actually be part of his world again, where he belonged, as somebody who was needed, wanted. Then he looked at the piano, his piano, as he liked to think of it. With its tobacco stains and glass marks, it was strangely attractive to him. He cleared his head, and sighed wistfully. Patting the old piano faithfully, he said
"I didn't think I would love to see the day. Until next time, my old friend."
And so The Piano Man left the escape of tavern, to return back to his reality. But it would never leave his mind, ever. And if things ever got too hard, and an escape was needed, he knew just where to go. Because a piano man can never quite forget the atmosphere of a pretty good crowd on a Saturday.
~finite~
(a/n - so I've done it! I love this song so much, and I just think the image of Remus banging out some tunes for some muggles in order to escape the prejudices of magic is a nice one. He would fit into the atmosphere nicely, I reckon. But alas, one can never escape life for long, and so just as those in the pub have to leave it, so does Remus have to at some point. Not that he wouldn't return though. Feel free to favourite and review! ^3^)