Chapter One Hundred Twenty-One
The Right Thing
How do I get through one night without you
If I had to live without you
What kind of life would that be
Oh and I, I need you in my arms
Need you to hold
You're my world, my heart, my soul
If you ever leave
Baby, you would take away everything good in my life
(How Do I Live - Trisha Yearwood)June 30th, 1996Remus stood at the train station just outside of the barrier between platforms nine
and ten, rubbing the bridge of his nose as a severe headache took hold of him. The lack of
sleep he'd had worrying at Hermione's bedside—mixed with his anxiety over being unable
to see Dora and the grief over Sirius's death—had made the lead-up to the full moon
unbearable; the worst in decades.
Dora had made it out of the battle okay in the end. Despite her own grief over
losing her cousin, her hair was bright bubble-gum pink which usually meant she was in a
good mood.
The sight of her standing beside him must have looked ridiculous to the passing
Muggles. She was energy, youth, light, and life, and he was an old, scarred, broken, bitter
mess.
Never before had he identified more with a nineteen-year-old Sirius, who was too
eager to bury his problem at the bottom of a bottle. Remus, however, knew that liquor
would only make his headache worse and, considering how much he would need to drink
to get properly pissed thanks to his lycanthropy, it would never be worth it in the end. Plus,
firewhisky cost money—something Remus was sorely lacking.
Fred and George, the most recent ex-Hogwarts students, approached the gathered
group grinning from ear to ear.
Remus stared at their obviously new jackets. "Dragonskin?"
Fred grinned. "The best dragonskin―"