A/N - please read!
So, it seems like this story isn't all that popular. I have two routes I can take this down because I still want to complete it, but I'll leave that up to you guys.
The first option is just a simple meet/fall in love story. Less chapters, but then I can move onto something else.
The second option is meet/fall in love and much more! I mean, James Potter may make an appearance (hopefully) in this if I take this route.
So... let me know what you'd prefer - I can get back to other stories if this isn't your cup of tea (I'll be going back to them after this story is done anyway). I just would rather focus on what people would like the most. I was already torn with which route I wanted to take with this.
Also - I hope you're all okay with the present tense, since I usually only write in past-tense. :)
Chapter 3 - Remus
Because I love looking at both POVs in a story :D
"How was work?" Hope asks, walking out of the kitchen as the front door shuts behind Remus. It's been that way every day and Remus smiles as he pulls off his cardigan. He's a little tired after working at the library. It's only a couple of days past the full moon and he's not feeling at his best, but the job isn't overly demanding and he doesn't like to let Mildred, the head librarian down.
He leans down slightly as she kisses his cheek in greeting, before following her into the kitchen. Hope returns to the oven and resumes cooking dinner, and Remus drops his cardigan over the back of one of the kitchen chairs and flicks the switch for the kettle. Two cups are already on the counter, as they are every day at this time.
Remus likes the routine they've developed over the years.
"It was quiet," Remus replies, reaching for the teabags and popping one into each mug. "Just the usual really. That guy popped in again." He tries to keep his voice normal, but his mum always sees right through him. He takes a deep breath, enjoying the smell of shepherd's pie that's filling the room.
Hope glances around. "Did you talk to him?"
Remus shrugs. "Only when he was at the counter. Just the usual stuff, nothing new."
Hope turns her attention back to the food. Her son is extremely shy and she wants him to meet someone. She wants him to be happy, to go on dates and go to the cinema and fall in love, but Remus doesn't do that. He shies away from making friends, from dating, from having fun. When he mentioned having a crush on a student who comes to the library, Hope had waited for good news but nothing had happened yet. Unless this other guy makes the first move, nothing will happen.
She wants the best for her son, but doesn't interfere. Him admitting a crush is a start and him admitting it's on a guy is an even bigger thing. It's not a massive deal though - they're both accepting of Remus' sexuality. But that he felt secure in himself enough to come out to them… that's important. Hope wants Remus to feel like he can tell her anything.
"Perhaps next week," she says. Perhaps she could give him a few pointers - suggest a way to initiate a conversation - but indirectly of course. Her son is smart - he just needs the confidence to start talking to his crush. She tells herself to have a think about it after dinner, try and remember a time when she had first met Lyall that could be a good example to tell Remus about, and hope that he be inspired by whatever moment she chooses.
"Maybe." The sound of water pouring from the kettle follows his words, and then she hears the spoon clinking against the cup as he stirs in the sugar and removes the teabags. Hope finishes layering the potato on top of the mince, and puts the dish in the oven. She turns off the hob and sets the used pans in the sink, running water into them.
"How was your day?" Remus asks as he moves the cups to the dining table, pulling out a chair for himself. He sets the other cup by Hope's seat, and angles his chair to face towards where she's stood at the sink. "Leave those, I'll do them after dinner," he adds.
"I met a nice boy today." She can't stay happy as her thoughts turn to the boy in the hospital. He was clearly terrified, panicking. She can't begin to imagine how scary the world would be without memories. She had been warned about his outburst the other day, but she couldn't blame him, plus the questionable scars on his back were enough for them to be required to call social services, if the agency wasn't already involved. "He has amnesia, poor darling. We're just waiting for his family to turn up. He sounds like he's from London or thereabouts so it might take a day or two, but the hospital has put in calls to the London police force and we're working on the hospital network register in case someone calls another hospital looking for him."
"Hospital register?" Remus asks.
Hope nods. "We're allowed to pass on patient information to other hospitals," she begins to explain. "So we have a description of the boy, his age range, physical features, height… anything that could identify him really, and it's put onto a special network that is shared between hospitals. Only hospital staff can see it of course, but it means that if someone in London calls a London hospital, they'd know that he's not there, so they'd check this register to see if he's turned up elsewhere."
"How did he end up in Wales?" Remus asks.
Hope shrugs, turning off the taps and picking up the washing-up sponge. There's a couple of minutes of silence as she quickly washes the two pots she had been using, and finally she sets them on the draining board and walks over to the table, wiping her hands on a hand-towel as she walks. She sits down and reaches for the cup of tea. "We don't know," she tells her son, picking up the conversation again. "Social Services has been to the hospital since it's over twenty-four hours but he doesn't remember anything and they've not needed to see him yet. He's unharmed, so they're only involved because we believe he's under eighteen and are treating him as such unless otherwise confirmed." She leaves out the part about the scars. She doesn't want to worry her son and tell him that they'd have called Social Services for other reasons. She has no proof that parents caused the other scars, he could have been in an accident for all she knows. She tries not to cast judgement without the full story, but in her heart, she can just tell that he's gone through something before the amnesia.
"It must be scary to not remember anything," Remus murmurs, frowning at the idea. "Will his memories come back?"
Hope shrugs. "Of course I shouldn't be discussing anyone's medical information. But I was hoping that if they don't, you could check him over - maybe he had a bump to the head or something?"
Remus nods. "I'll try. I mean, it might be brain related and I don't want to try any spells if that's the case. But I can see if there's an injury the hospital hasn't seen. I might not have the right spells though, but I'll stop by and see what I can do."
Hope nods, happy at the idea. "It's been over twenty-four hours though," she says quietly. "I told him his parents or family would be there. But… If it were you, I'd have called every hospital in Wales and then every hospital in the United Kingdom and anywhere else I could think of, looking for you. Where are his parents that they haven't come looking?"
"Maybe he doesn't have any?" Remus suggests.
Hope shakes her head. "No. He showed up in a nice clean outfit, so he's not homeless. Social Services were checking with the youth centres in case, but… but someone out there knows who he is, where he's from. Someone has to be missing him."
"How old is he?" Remus asks, before realising the mistake. "I mean… roughly?"
"I'd say your age or older. Sixteen, perhaps seventeen," she insists. "I told him to choose a name for himself. It'll help us all if he has something to call himself. There's the panic because he doesn't know who he is, but maybe a name would help. Even if it's not his birth name, it's something. I've never dealt with amnesia before and I'm at a loss on how to really help. I was going to get some books perhaps, or call up a specialist at another hospital for advice. I haven't had a chance to ask around for a name yet though."
"That's a good idea," Remus replies.
"Also, he must be so bored there. Do you have a few books I can bring? Perhaps a notebook or a sketchbook?"
"I have a notebook I bought a couple of weeks ago but didn't use. I can get a new one," Remus says. "It's a big one, it was just for scribbling notes down - there are lots of pages."
"Oh, that'll be perfect - I'll give you the change back," Hope offers.
Remus shakes his head. "It's from The Works," he explains. "You know the books there are really cheap." He reaches for his cup, realising it has cooled down enough. He lifts it to his lips and sips it. "I've got a handful of books I was going to bring to the charity shop too. I'll take a look around my room and see what else I have."
"Excellent. I don't know when someone will turn up for him… if they do, and it must be pretty boring being in the hospital alone. I promised he wouldn't do this alone."
Remus smiles. His mother has the kindest heart in the world, and he knows that she's going to get overly invested in helping this stranger until he finds his family. It's one of the many things he loves about her. He's blessed to have a mother like her, because how many Muggle women would accept the darkness that ran through the magical world - such as Lycanthropy?
He's heard stories about parents abandoning and shunning their children because of such an affliction.
Caring as she is, Remus understands how she's become attached to this stranger in the hospital. Family is the most important thing to Hope Lupin, so to see a boy whose family haven't come for him is hard for her. Harder than she is letting on, though he doesn't comment on this. He knows she's not telling him everything about the stranger - he can tell by the way she's talking about him, as though she's not giving the full story.
He's not sure if it's something she doesn't want to discuss, or something she can't discuss, but he doesn't push for more information. She's a nurse, and it might be sensitive. It might be upsetting. She might have just decided it wasn't relevant. Whatever the reason, Remus knows he doesn't have any right to know all of this guy's secrets or history or whatever.
...oOo...
The following morning, Hope drags Remus around the £1 shop before they both go into work. She has a basket and takes her time looking at everything, asking Remus' opinion on each item. Remus answers as best he can, but who wouldn't like notebooks and pens? It's not much, just a few small things, but they hope it's enough to occupy him for a day or two until his family come. Hope's smile is a bit weak whenever she mentions his family, as though she doesn't actually believe they'll turn up.
'If his family comes', Remus can't help but think. Though he tries to push away those thoughts and be positive. It's entirely likely the guy is just a student and his parents don't even realise he's missing. Not every parent is like Hope - who Remus knows would call him twice a day if he ever went away from home. Maybe he's got a worried roommate out there who is reporting the guy's disappearance at that very moment.
Remus reaches for some chocolate bars. The shop has Galaxy chocolate which he always enjoys, and he grabs a couple of the plain bars, before following his mother to the counter. He quickly pays for them, knowing he has to go to work soon. Tomorrow he'll get some of the caramel bars, but he's feeling plain chocolate today.
He hesitates as he begins to put the bars in his pocket. Imagine not knowing a single thing. Imagine not knowing if you like to eat chocolate?
"Give him this," Remus insists, holding one of the bars out. This guy needs it more than him. Remus would hate to forget his own love of chocolate. Everyone should know if they like it - and introducing someone else to chocolate is the best gift Remus could ever give in his opinion.
Though he'd save money if he did forget his own love of the chocolatey goodness. It wasn't worth it though, he'd rather remember his adoration of chocolate than have more money.
Hope beams at him. "Go on, get to work," she insists, pushing him gently towards the library. "Have a lovely day, sweetheart."
"You too, Mum," Remus replies. He watches as she crosses the road, the hospital being just down the street. Usually he walks her there, but the shopping delayed them both by a few minutes and Remus doesn't want to be late.
He already has to take time off during the full moon. He doesn't want to lose this job, even though he knows deep down that the staff there are fond of him and wouldn't let him go so easily. Mildred is in her sixties and she would riot if someone tried to get rid of Remus.
He'll pop in to the hospital soon and see the guy. It must be so lonely for him, without a family at his side. Remus decides he can befriend him whilst he's there. It'll only be a short time before his family turn up and move him to a hospital closer to where he's from. London or wherever his mum said.
His mum turns the corner, disappearing from sight, and Remus turns away, walking back up the street. The library opens in ten minutes, but it's only a five minute walk from where he is, so he doesn't panic. He'll make it in time.
Maybe during his break he can do a bit of research on amnesia. He certainly doesn't want to go in there and sound stupid or ask something insensitive. Maybe he could check a couple of books out too, so his mum can have a read.
He heads towards the large building, already feeling the happy sensation course through him. He loves the library. He loves the quiet and the smell and organising books. Just being in there relaxes him and puts him at ease.
I've already written the rough draft of the next chapter. It'll be up soon. :)
Note: Anything regarding social services and rehoming an underage teen with amnesia will be google and guess-work. Apologises if anything is incorrect in this or future chapters.