Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Four
Life Debts and Promises
I feel the burn, watch the smoke as I turn rising,
A phoenix from the flames
I have learned, from fighting fights, that weren't mine
Not with fists, but with wings that I will fly
(Beautiful Pain - Eminem)July 23rd, 1997Remus sat at his kitchen table, the cup of poorly brewed tea that his wife had made
him getting cold in his hands. He smiled down at the liquid, which he only took small sips
from when she was looking even though she likely knew he was doing it just to placate her.
The same went for her cooking. More than once he had suggested saving up money and
finding a new place to live—somewhere closer to places where takeaway was readily
available. Between the pair of them, they were likely to starve to death or contract food
poisoning.
Andromeda, his lovely mother-in-law, had given Dora an old family cookbook for
their wedding. A wedding which consisted of himself, Dora, a Ministry official that could
be trusted, and Dora's parents.
When his wife unwrapped the book, she had laughed loudly at her mother, who
only smirked in reply. Dora's father, Ted, patted Remus on the shoulder, called him son—
despite the fact that he was barely ten years older than Remus himself—and said, "Good
luck. You're going to need it."
Remus was pleased when Mia's promise long ago that Dora's family would love him
had been right. After marking her and asking her to marry him, he had felt terrible that he
had not even properly met her parents, save for the few times in his youth when he had
run across Andromeda—sans young Dora—visiting Sirius.
Meeting Andromeda as Dora's fiancé was quite a different experience.
"How long have you known that my daughter was your mate?"
"Thirteenth of December, 1978," Remus nervously answered.