@wolfstarmicrofic July 19, word count 985
Remus cringed as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing his best shirt and cardigan, but they were starting to look a bit shabby. It was too late now; he had nothing better to put on. He pushed his greying hair this way and that, trying to find the best way to let it lie.
“You don’t have to stay the entire time,” he told his reflection. “Get in, say hello and be back in time for a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits before bed,” he nodded, picked up his messenger bag and set off for his ten-year reunion.
He stopped before the entrance doors of Hogwarts High and took a deep breath. He really wasn’t looking forward to this. He hadn’t kept in touch with anyone from school. Even the three that had been his best friends. It was too embarrassing. He’d made such a fool of himself on his last day. Maybe he should just go home and make a start on that book he wanted to read. But before he could do anything, the double door opened, and Lily was standing there.
“REMUS!!!” She squealed and dragged him inside.
The hall was loud. Music blared from a sound system set up at the back, where the teacher's table usually stood on a raised platform. The long house tables had been moved and replaced by smaller round tables with chairs around them. “Come sit with us, we got a table to ourselves,” Lily said, pulling him towards a table near the dance area. They stopped in front of two tables that had been pushed together. “You remember, Mary, and this is her wife, Ashley. Then there’s Marlene and their partner Dorcas. And, of course, you know these miscreants,” Lily laughed as she pointed them out. “Peter and his wife Florence, James, who is now my husband,” she held out her left hand for him to see the ring. He smiled at her nervously as the last person to be reintroduced was Sirius. “And last but not least, my husband's soulmate, Sirius Orion Black the third,”
“Why did you say my entire name?” Sirius asked, furrowing his brow. “I’m pretty sure he remembers my name, Lily. You didn’t feel the need to do it to anyone else.” He huffed, and Remus’s stomach flipped. He’d known seeing Sirius again after everything that had happened was going to be hard, but it was almost unbearable. He wouldn’t even look at him.
“You’re going to bitch about me calling you by your full name, but not that I called you my husband's soulmate?”
“Why would I argue with something that’s true?” Sirius smirked. Remus needed a drink.
“Watch it, Black or you won’t be godfather to Holly,” Lily warned, waggling her finger at him.
“Oi!” Sirius protested, and they all burst into fits of laughter. All except Remus.
“I’m, er, just going to go get a drink,” he muttered, trying to walk away, but Lily grabbed his arm again and stopped him.
“Oh no, you don’t. James, go get another pitcher. Remus, sit down.”
“Take my seat, Remus,” James said as he stood up. “It’s great to see you again,” James clapped him on the shoulder as he passed, and Remus was almost certain that he heard Sirius hiss, ‘traitor’, under his breath.
He would have sat somewhere else, but Lily dragged him around the table and pushed him into the vacant chair. He didn’t dare look at Sirius. He bowed his head and became extremely focused on the white scar that trailed across the back of his hand. He really wished he’d just stayed home.
“So, Remus, what have you been up to?” Peter asked, leaning forward past his wife so he could talk to Remus. Remus blinked a few times as he thought about what to say.
“I’m er, I’m a teacher. Well, a substitute teacher. I was a full-time one for a while, but with my illness, it was, you know, hard to deal with it all. This way I can pick when I work.” He’d probably said too much, but he was very aware of Sirius on his other side.
“Wow, that sounds amazing. I work at the council now. Didn’t manage to get through Uni, but so far I’m pretty good at what I do now.”
“And you got married. Congratulations,” Remus was terrible at small talk, but he was trying. Peter grimaced for a second before replying.
“Yeah, five years ago. I would have invited you, but I didn’t know how to contact you,” he shrugged and turned to Mary, who was asking him something. Remus bowed his head again and twiddled his thumbs.
“Lily and James got married last year,” Sirius said. Remus sat still. “I told them not to bother trying to contact you as you clearly didn’t want anything to do with us,” he scoffed. Remus felt a lump form in his throat. Sirius’s words were cruel, but he probably deserved them.
“I didn’t think any of you wanted anything to do with me,” he whispered.
“Didn’t want anything to do with you?!” Sirius twisted violently in his chair to face Remus. “You were our best friend. Our brother and you fucked off, leaving us behind. You could have called, but you didn’t. You ran away like a coward,” Remus stared into his molten silver eyes, unable to look away as he raged. “Why did you even come tonight?” Before Remus could even formulate an answer, Lily and James came back with beer and glasses. Lily pulled two chairs over from another table, and they squeezed themselves in beside Sirius.
“So how’s everyone doing?” James asked, pouring them all drinks. Remus tried to smile, but all he wanted was to leave and forget about his stupid fantasy of reconnecting with his old friends and go back to his lonely flat by himself.