TW: MENTION OF LONELINESS, DEATH, EXCLUSION, SELF-HATE, SCARS, EXCLUSION
Sea
Disclaimer: Everything you might recognize from the Harry Potter world belongs to JKR and her team.
The chilly gusts of wind lifted tiny grains of sand, rushing and rustling between the dunes. Remus, barely 6 years old, sat alone in the wet sand, his back turned to the sea. His sickly pale, scar-ridden complexion blended with the cloudy grey sky, as he hid in his dad's large, old, tattered at the seams, striped T-Shirt. His long, frail-looking body was engulfed by the dark, greyish blue material, his gangly limbs barely peeking through. A gray bowler hat sat atop his head, just a little too big, hiding his short, golden-brown curls. Reddish grazes, wounds, and scars split his skin, appearing angrily on his legs, arms, and jaw. Two deep, fresh gashes sliced across his thigh. Another mark, his oldest scar, cut right across the bridge of his nose. Somewhere far behind him, children's shouts of joy rang out. Remus never played with the other kids, they would always ask too many questions, stare at him bizarrely, their wide eyes full of wariness and mistrust, as if he was a freak. The other kids never failed to make him feel like a stranger, out of place. He hated it. Remus hated them for making him feel this way, but more than anything, he hated himself, his ugly awkward body full of scars, and the stupid curse. So he kept to himself, his long, bony fingers moulding the moist sand, shaping it into little mounds, constructing hills and walls. A light hand settled gently on his shoulder, his mother's lavender perfume wafting through the salty air.
"Remus, it is time to go." Her voice was soft, tentative.
He stood up, throwing a last glance at the sandcastle, looking over his shoulder at the sea.
"Shame that the day is so gray, we should return to the house before it starts to rain," commented his father.
"We shall be luckier on another day, sweetheart," replied his mother.
Remus lingered behind briefly, watching as the gray water continued moving peacefully, everlasting. White foam formed at the surface of it, salty drops spraying everywhere as the waves crashed against the rocks somewhere below. A thin sunlight beam filtered through the clouds, playfully falling on the sea from the overcast sky. The sea had now become an array of shades of gray and blue.
Many years later, Remus would remember the sea as the color of Sirius' eyes, gray and blue, sparkling, full of emotions one moment, impenetrable and stormy the next. The sea and his lingering gaze would remain with him forever, even after Sirius' death, until the very last of his days.
Author's note: this mini-oneshot goes with a piece of fanart I drew of Remus Lupin, which you can find on marauderswriting on Instagram.
Read and review!
b-bye, daya
