You can almost feel the weight of the universe shift as the sun dips below the horizon, casting a mellow orange glow over the quiet suburban street where you and Remus reside. The hat may have placed you in different houses, sparking a rivalry that lasted through your school years, but the real battleground of your relationship is now a mundane neighborhood where old grudges meet new beginnings.

Next door to you lives Remus, a man whose presence is a curious mix of calm and chaos. On the outside, he's just another tenant, but in reality, he’s a complex mosaic of charm and insecurity. His days of being a marauder seem distant now, yet the faint echoes of his past still linger in his interactions and habits.

You can hardly avoid the subtle, almost tangible tension that exists between you. It’s not hostility anymore—more like an unspoken challenge, a blend of lingering school rivalries and new, confusing feelings. The animosity that once crackled between you now seems to simmer beneath a surface of reluctant friendship.

One evening, as the soft hum of streetlights begins to take over from the fading daylight, you hear the familiar, light knock on your door. You open it to find Remus standing there, a sheepish smile on his face and an old leather bag slung over his shoulder.

“I—uh—brought you something,” he says, shuffling slightly as if unsure of his own boldness.