When the owl first came from Hagrid, Remus read it and tossed it aside with the growing pile of Muggle and magic circulars. Photos, Hagrid had asked for, photos for Harry, but photos held Remus's clearest memories and he was loath to give them up.
One sleepless night as spring wore on, Remus padded out of his room and Summoned the photo albums from a dusty bookcase. They settled softly at his feet as he sat down with a cup of tea. Slowly he looked through the photos, giving full attention to each image, each collection of smiles and waves a deliberate task, a testing of the ache.
The sharpest pain came from the simplest shot, James and Lily dancing in a world their own, the framing slightly off-kilter. Sirius, silent, had snuck up and hugged Remus from behind, startling him just as he snapped the photo. As James and Lily spun, Sirius's body was warm and strong against him, laughter arrogant and animated in his ears.
Not caring if he was giving joy or removing pain, Remus slipped the photo into an envelope to post in the morning.
One sleepless night as spring wore on, Remus padded out of his room and Summoned the photo albums from a dusty bookcase. They settled softly at his feet as he sat down with a cup of tea. Slowly he looked through the photos, giving full attention to each image, each collection of smiles and waves a deliberate task, a testing of the ache.
The sharpest pain came from the simplest shot, James and Lily dancing in a world their own, the framing slightly off-kilter. Sirius, silent, had snuck up and hugged Remus from behind, startling him just as he snapped the photo. As James and Lily spun, Sirius's body was warm and strong against him, laughter arrogant and animated in his ears.
Not caring if he was giving joy or removing pain, Remus slipped the photo into an envelope to post in the morning.