Remus 'It is required of every man,' the ghost returned, 'that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death.'
The line from Dickens' famous Christmas tale had been coming back to Remus more and more as the holidays neared. It seemed appropriate for him. He'd spent so much of his life trying to stay as close to the fringes and edges of the world as possible. From all he could tell, he'd lived and died that way the first time around. So, perhaps, this was his condemnation in death, to repeat life and change that disconnection from the world.
He certainly didn't feel disconnected any longer, as he walked through the trees and had to stop several times to exchange smiles and good wishes with those he knew. For all he hadn't totally given up his introverted ways, somehow he had managed to collect quit a number of friends and loved ones over the last year.
Of course, thinking of the last year reminded him of last year's ceremony and Lily Luna. They'd teased each other about snowball fights and grown-up talk just under that tree there. He'd been hiding. She'd never let him hide, finding him with a smile. There was still a hole there, where Lily and Harry had been.
Still, Remus himself was no longer hiding. He was not standing under a tree somewhere, hating the necessity of dressing up or being around people. While he might still prefer his denims and shirts sometimes, it seemed fitting for this new life that he looked different, an outward sign of the inner changes going on in his head.
Not that he could keep thinking such dark thoughts for too long. There was snow and lights and hot cider and festive music. More importantly, there was life and love and all those soppy, clichéd things he got to indulge in during the holidays because if you couldn't be soppy during Christmas, things were truly dire beyond dire.
Maybe he should scout out the trees to see if a helpful elf might have included some mistletoe somewhere he could drag a particular someone off to later for a private moment or two in the snow.