A/N - This is a new series I've decided to start. It'll definitely be shorter than On Musical Terms, but I'm not sure how many chapters it'll be right now.
This idea is inspired by two things. First, a dream I had, where I was in a place a bit like the setting for this, with a beach and mist. Second, the place where I live, because I actually do live in Scotland and the kind of mist I mention in here has been around all weekend and I felt like writing about it.
I hope people enjoy this and please remember to read and review. Thank you!

Through the Mist

I

Remus loved the beach at Soleburn in spring.
Or more specifically late spring, when the weather always took a turn for the better and was even sometimes warmer than summer.
And then there was also the phenomenon of the har. On various days in spring the Scottish coast would be consumed by a hazy, white-grey mist, drifting in from the sea. Remus was fascinated by it. It was what prompted him to stay with his dad every Easter, helping out in the old-fashioned sweet shop instead of whiling away his holiday reading and generally being lethargic. Remus always quite liked staying with his dad, and did so at many opportunities, but Easter was his favourite time.

There was something about the har that drew him in; something about the place, the sea, the beach, the forest behind the small town of Soleburn. Maybe it was the way everyone knew each other, a far cry from the people in London where Remus lived with his mother. Then again, perhaps it was the distinct Scottishness of the whole place, and the way it made Remus feel more connected to himself and his origins. Or maybe it was the spectacle of watching people and houses and whole islands disappear into the mist. It was the thrill of waking up one morning to look outside your window and find nothing but white, and perhaps the odd outline of a tree. People talk about the ultimate emptiness of darkness, but Remus felt he had to disagree. White was so much more absolute, entirely all consuming.

As he got older Remus had began to look forward to these visits less and less, wanting to stay in the city with his friends, or just sitting at home reading. However, this year Remus had a reason to want to escape the claustrophobic hold of London for the open freedom of Scotland. But he was trying his best not to think about it, or rather him.

Remus sat behind the wooden counter of LUPIN'S LURES, reading a book whilst sucking on a chocolate lollypop and feeling glad that his dad wasn't there to witness this transgression. A slender figure, quite tall and well built, Remus had finally outgrown that awkward stage between boy and man, and no longer resembled a giant gangly stork. Tawny hair constantly flopped over his amber eyes, something that drove his mother insane. On more than one occasion he had woken to find her in his room, a pair of scissors in hand and a slightly manic smile on her face. Had a social worker been in the room it would probably have got her a nice trip to the courts to practice her acting skills; a thing which seemed to be lacking as Silvia Lupin was constantly out of employment. Remus was never sure why she kept his father's name. His parents divorce had been reasonably civil. They still kept in touch and were, at times, so friendly Remus wondered why they had broken up in the first place.

Just as Remus was mulling this last thought over the bell above the door chimed, alerting him to the fact that he had customers. He stood up and placed a welcoming smile on his face.
It's all about appearance his dad had told him one day when discussing the finer points of a successful business. Remus couldn't deny it paid off. The idea to make the sweet shop not just a regular run of the mill kind, but transform it into a quaint, old fashioned venue had become its biggest selling point. The walls of the shop were clad in panels of light oak, similar to that on the floor. Rows of glass jars stood on shelves, full of soor plooms, pan drops, Edinburgh rock, tablet and bonbons of countless flavours.
Then of course there was the chocolate. Enclosed behind a glass case lay Remus' idea of heaven in the form of carefully arranged stacks of milk, dark and white chocolate. There were nutty chocolates; chocolates full of whisky and other liquors; chocolate with raspberry, strawberry coffee and caramel fillings; chocolates in the shapes of animals and even ones with messages written in chocolate icing. Remus' father was an expert chocolatier and Remus had been learning from him since early childhood. Some of the best chocolates in the shop had been made by him.

Remus turned to face the customers and was met with five teenagers all pushing each other and laughing loudly. Must be on holiday Remus thought as he tried to keep a business savvy smile across his face. The group seemed to be around seventeen or eighteen, the same age as Remus.

"What can I get you?" he asked a tall boy with black hair and round glasses, who was currently surveying the ice creams on offer.

"Um, can I get a mint choc chip and a…what was it that you wanted Lily?"

"Strawberry." a pretty red head called from over beside a display of Easter eggs.
"Sure thing." Remus replied before asking the others in the group "does anyone else want an ice cream, while I'm here?"

"Yeah," a blonde, slightly rotund boy stood behind with another girl, also blonde. "Can I get two mango sorbets and some of this tablet please?" Remus expertly scooped out the ice cream into four cones and placed them in a holder on top of the counter.

"What are sewer plumes?" the black haired boy asked, squinting at the label of a jar full of round green sweets.

"Sour plums" Remus translated, grinning at the atrocious mispronunciation. "They're really nice, especially if you don't have much of a sweet tooth."

"Sounds perfect for me then." a boy at the back of the group looked up from the ice creams at Remus.

"Can I have a pounds worth of those and a lemon sorbet please." The boy said, smiling at Remus in a friendly way.

Well he's seriously goodlooking. Remus thought errantly as he tried not to openly stare at the Adonis before him. Remus didn't often apply the term beautiful to a human, and certainly not to a man, but there didn't really seem to be any other way of describing the person in front of him. It was, he reasoned, probably because of the perfect facial proportions, aristocratic high cheekbones and a full mouth set in a pleasant smile. It could also have something to do with the nicely defined body visible through his plain white t-shirt.
However it was the boy's eyes which really caught Remus' attention. They were a very pale grey flecked with white, spreading from the iris, all surrounded by a darker circle of almost black. They reminded him of the mist, and Remus was entranced.

He was disturbed from this reverie, and probably stalkerish staring, when the first boy asked "Where are you from? I can quite place your accent."

Remus tore his gaze from the grey eyed boy and replied "Yeah, it's a bit all over the place. My dad is Scottish, he owns this place, but my mum is English. I lived in Edinburgh till I was ten, but then we moved to London. The whole thing kind of screwed up my accent." Remus shut up after he realised he was babbling and had almost given the group his entire life story.

"We're from London!" the blonde haired boy said excitedly "We're on a spontaneous holiday."

"It's our last year at school." The red haired girl had joined the conversation. "Do you know if there's anything in particular to do around here?" Remus laughed.

"I hope that's not the reason you picked here for a holiday. If you wanted stuff to do you should have gone to Stranraer, it's a lot bigger than here, and in the same area." As he was speaking Remus measured out a pound's worth of soor plooms, got the lemon sorbet and took the money as if on auto pilot. He determinedly did not look at the grey eyed boy.

"But that's why we chose here." The girl replied. "We wanted somewhere really remote. I didn't really mean tourist attractions or anything, just interesting buildings and things."

"Well," Remus thought for a second "there are the ruins in the forest; I think that was an old castle or maybe an abbey. The beach is amazing, there's this one bit on the east side with a cave, that's always worth a look at. Apart from that I'm afraid this place is pretty boring."

"Okay, thanks." The black haired boy smiled as he took his ice cream from the little holder on top of the counter. "We'll probably be back here at some point."

"This place is awesome." The blonde boy gestured to the jars of sweets with a look of awe on his face.

"Have a nice day." Remus replied absent-mindedly as the groups traipsed out of the shop. He allowed himself one last look at the boy with the interesting eyes and was startled to find those very objects staring straight into his own. Remus though he might have done something embarrassing then, like gasping or blushing, or tripping even though he was standing still. But he wasn't sure as those eyes took away his power of reasoning, and the ability to remember his own name.

"See you later." The boy promised, before tearing his gaze away from Remus and following his friends out of the shop into the sunshine.