Title: Remembrance
Author: Okamiwind
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't hate.
The town was used to Remus Lupin just as they were used to his giant, black, shaggy dog, Snuffles, as little kids called him affectionately. The two were inseparatable, often going on long walks in the evening after closing their little book shop for the day. They were sometimes joined by a boy. The boy, though lanky, and always sporting a mop of messy hair, seemed to somehow fit with the prim and proper, albeit a slightly worn, figure of Remus. They made their rounds about the outskirts of the little town; sometimes Remus treated Harry with ice cream from the nearby vendor; sometimes they would just quietly talk. No one dared encroach on the sense of reminiscence in the air, and the trio, Snuffles bounding happily around them, would make their peaceful way twice around the small park before Harry had to hurry back home.
The town was used to the odd trio, and the small, dusty shop, and the funny-dressed people that would come to the shop. No one minded- smart people are always slightly peculiar- and life of the town flowed peacefully. Harry would be gone most of the time- at school- they were told. He would come back for the summer, and the town would hear the usual happy barking that marked his first secret trip to the shop of the summer. He wasn't allowed near the shop, something about it that his family didn't like, but that was ok. The little town didn't care- since when did little boys listen to what they're told?
One year the shop was closed in the middle of the year, never to be opened again. One evening Harry and Remus made their last trip around the park, without Snuffles. Little kids wondered where he went. Remus would just smile sadly and tell them- far away. The adults understood, the children didn't, and they made Come Back Soon cards for Snuffles. Remus accepted them with the same smile. Harry went home earlier than usual.
That night Remus packed the bookshop up and moved out. That night would be the last night the town would see Harry sitting on the steps on the shop. That night a boy would decide his future. That night the town was sound asleep as a group of people mourned their lost friend- Sirius Black.