I hope that my dear readers can forgive me for doing this, but I had to rewrite parts of this chapter. The whole background of how Remus met Sylvia and how they came to be close is now different from the original idea. I think this works out better for my overall plotline. Thanks to a few reviews and message exchanges from a very nice reviewer, I realized that my timeline about Sylvia's pregnancy and Orion's birth were inaccurate. Orion is born on July 29, 1980. He was born premature by two months. So this means that Sylvia could not have been pregnant with Orion in early November of 1980. So I needed to rewrite this to change this huge goof that I had made! I hope everyone likes the changes.

- Azenor Sage.

Chapter 1: Over and Done

Pazieg, Brittany, France

January 27, 1986

The morning started out as normal as possible for Remus Lupin, as normal as any morning just after the full moon could be. He groaned from his position on the cellar floor. Slowly, he eased himself up and looked around the room to inspect it for damages. He winced when he saw that he had, in his transformed state, clawed through the dense cushions that lined the walls to the brick and steel behind them. He had long ago renovated a World War II bomb shelter into a prison to hold him on the full moon nights. Every full moon he sealed up his home and placed the protective wards on it to protect what was within. Then he made his way to the shelter which he then set up wards, charms, and jinxes to ensure that he was truly sealed within. He also locked himself away behind caged doors that were magically sealed and had a timer that would not release him until true morning light.

He had almost attacked a fellow student while he was enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and he did not want to risk a repeat of that near disaster. He had been such a fool then, allowing his friends to let him loose during the full moon so that they could run with him in their animagus forms. While it assisted the Wolf within him to some extent, it didn't outweigh that letting him loose put everyone else in mortal danger. He had vowed never again would he roam free in his wolf form on the full moon night after that incident. He had done his best to obey his own vow since then.

Suddenly he heard the whirring sound of the many locks opening as they began to recognize that it was at last morning. The steel barred door clicked, and Remus crawled toward it and pushed the door open. He slowly used the door to help him gain his feet. He was tired, so tired, but he couldn't stay there. He needed to get back to the house.

It was a slow process as Remus managed to stumble across the yard, exhausted from his night of transformation into a Werewolf, but at long last, he made it safely to the back door of the kitchen. A mop of dark curls a smooth pale brow, and rich blue eyes peeked at him from the window at the kitchen door and then it disappeared. The locks turned, and the door was pulled open. Remus gratefully entered the house and then stared at the child, his precious child who had been forced yet again to spend the night alone, while Remus underwent the effects of his curse.

Orion Lupin smiled at him with warm affection. "Dad, I'm glad you are alright," the boy said as he finished his own perusal of Remus. Apparently, the child could find no open wounds nor any new scars to be terribly concerned about. That was good. He disliked upsetting Orion for any reason.

He smiled at his son as he walked further into the kitchen. "Have you tried to eat anything yet?" he asked of the child. Though Orion was not allowed to use the stove without permission, they did have a muggle microwave and a muggle toaster. He had taught the boy long ago how to use the toaster to make toast and the microwave for other pastries and bread.

"I wasn't hungry," Orion admitted. "I was waiting for you to come back."

"Oh Ori," Remus said and then gave into the urge that had plagued him since he saw the boy. He hugged the child close to him and kissed the mop of messy curls. "I'll get a quick shower and then cook you breakfast," he said.

"No, you won't!" Orion exclaimed, "You'll get a healing bath. I already ran the bath for you and put in the healing medicine. You just need to relax and feel better. I can make myself toast and jam."

"That's not a hearty breakfast, pup," Remus said sternly.

Orion seemed to think that over. "Alright, then you can make us a big lunch."

Remus laughed as he noted the sparkle in the child's blue eyes. "I'm not going to win this one. Alright, I'll make you a big lunch and, in the meantime, I will obey you and take that bath."

Orion's lips curved up into a mischievous smile and it made Remus's heart ache. At that moment, Orion looked so very much like how his birth father must have looked at that age. Every now and then Orion did little things, had little expressions that reminded Remus so very much of Sirius Black that it was painful.

Remus had been devastated by the murder of his friends James, Lily, and Peter. Murders that had been caused by one of his best friends Sirius Black. What had turned Sirius into such a monster? Remus thought it was too long exposed to Sirius's family. Sirius had always spoken so horribly about his family. Remus remembered all too well the horror stories about Sirius's mother. His younger brother might have been a decent sort, but Remus never really got to know the boy. Remus remembered that Bellatrix Lestrange was Sirius's cousin and he shivered at the thought of a child growing up in a family that could produce anyone the likes of Bellatrix Lestrange. The thought of exposing Orion to those horrible people was enough to make him growl. He would never let Orion become the monster that his birth father had become.

Remus retreated to the bathroom. He was swift in shedding his clothing and he tested the water's temperature before he got into the tub. He sighed in delight. Without fail Orion always drew him a bath at the end of the full moon and without fail it was always just the perfect temperature no matter how long ago it was that Orion had run it. He was sure it was magic on his pup's part, but he couldn't prove it without witnessing it. That Orion was a Wizard was without doubt to Remus. He could practically smell the magic building inside of the boy, every day growing stronger.

He let himself glance at his surroundings and he sighed happily and whispered a softer prayer of thanks to Sylvia de Rais. He was thankful for her foolishness in sleeping with Sirius. He was thankful for her approaching him in her desperation over her pregnancy. He was thankful to her for befriending him and giving him a trade.

The first time he had met Sylvia de Rais was when she was moving into her London apartment. She was moving into the one just down the hall from Sirius and Remus had been half living out of Sirius's apartment when he was in England and not in Europe attempting to chase down Werewolf Packs for Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. She had been an attractive blonde and Remus had felt an immediate pull toward her. He had offered to help her move the boxes into her apartment. Afterward, Sylvia had insisted on paying for his dinner and she took him down the street to a café that he favored that served fabulous food for a cheap price. She had joked that she didn't have the money to give him a better meal, but she did want to show him some appreciation for his help. Remus had been immediately smitten with the pretty blonde with the French accent. Their friendship had started that day and Remus had guarded it zealously. He didn't tell Sirius anything about having met Sylvia. He didn't tell anyone about her. He did continue to meet her for little coffee dates and friendly dinners when their schedules would permit.

Sylvia had owned a small bookstore in London and another larger one in Rennes, across the channel in her native Brittany. Sylvia's specialty was the restoration of old manuscripts. Remus enjoyed hearing about Sylvia's work in restoration. It had sounded so fascinating and he had longed to do the work himself. They shared a passion for the written word and could talk for hours about books ranging from the classics of antiquity to more modern-day thrillers.

Remus thought of Sylvia often when he was away on missions for The Order of the Phoenix. He had grown more distant from James, Sirius, and Peter. He was rarely in England and when he was, he made sure that he spent most of his free time with Sylvia. He loved her. He had fallen in love with her, but he could never tell her. She was a Muggle and he was a Werewolf. The statute of Secrecy forbade him from telling her anything. Even if she ever learned about his world, didn't she deserve better than a Werewolf? She deserved a better Wizard, one without his affliction. It didn't stop him from loving her. It didn't stop him from thinking of her at night and wishing that he was holding her.

It was in late January in 1980 that Sylvia told him she was pregnant. She had asked him if he knew Sirius Black. When he admitted that he did, she had asked him what he knew of Sirius. He felt his heart shatter and he felt rage fill him because he knew, Remus could tell that she was one of Sirius's paramours. He wanted to rage and growl, howl in agony when she told him that she had engaged in a one-night-stand with Sirius and now she was pregnant with his child.

She didn't know what to do about her circumstances. She didn't want to tell Sirius about the child because it was only one night and clearly if Sirius had wanted anything to do with her he would have sought her out, he knew she lived just down the hall. Instead, Sylvia had gotten the impression that Sirius had tried to avoid bumping into her. Remus doubted there had been that much thought on Sirius's part. She probably had not seen him because he had been apparating into his apartment instead of using the stairs, but he couldn't tell her that.

She didn't really know what to do with the child, particularly since she would be raising the child alone and she didn't know how to juggle childcare and the career she was trying to build. She had not really thought that Sirius would want the child either, but she thought perhaps he had relatives that would take the child. She informed Remus that other than a very old Great-Aunt she didn't have anyone, and her Great-Aunt was completely out of the question.

He had then told her that he would be willing to take the child when she gave birth to it. Sylvia had been so relieved, and Remus told himself that this was the right thing to do. Remus had often lamented that he would never be a father. He was too afraid of passing on any of his werewolf traits to a child. Studies said that children of Werewolves were not able to transform during the full moon, but they still had some of the wolf's instincts and characteristics. Remus shuddered to think of passing any of his curse on to an innocent child. This though, raising Sylvia's child, it was a way for him to be a father, and a way to take care of an innocent child. It was a way for him to protect something of Sylvia's.

Remus had unofficially left the Order of the Phoenix. He moved with Sylvia to her home in Rennes, France. They had happy days where she taught him to speak French, he was horrible at it at first, but he was determined to learn the nuances of the language. France was going to be his home now and he needed to fit in as best he could. He had become her assistant and had soon surpassed her skills, unsurprising considering he used magic to help him along. Of course, he kept that little fact hidden from Sylvia.

When Remus was feeling nostalgic like this, he was willing to admit truths that he usually kept at bay. He had been in love with Sylvia by the end of the first day he had met her. It was the sort of things he had scoffed at in books, but it had happened to him. By the end of five hours in her company, his heart had belonged completely to Sylvia de Rais, it beat only for her.

Sylvia had been sickly during the last two months of her pregnancy and the doctors had worried about her. Remus had not understood what was wrong, but he knew she was growing increasingly frail and he could smell death upon her. He hated it. It had made him feel helpless. He had doted upon her, doing all sorts of things for her as she got worse and worse. He had felt like his heart was ripped out of him when she died just hours after giving birth to little Orion. When little Ori could travel, he took the baby to the little village of Pace, better known as Pazieg to the locals, so that he could present Orion to Sylvia's Great-Aunt Marianne.

He had met the aged woman several times in Sylvia's company, but this time felt different. They were both aggrieved, both in mourning. They both wondered what might have been if Sylvia had lived.

"She was always delicate when she was a child," Marianne had told him. "Her health so frail. As a teenager, she improved. The doctors seemed to think she'd live a long healthy life so long as she did not wish to have children. It hurt Sylvie, but she agreed it was best. There were so many children that could be adopted. There was always time to decide," Marianne had laughed bitterly then.

"But then she had met that young man and had slept with him and became pregnant. The idea of abortion was abhorrent to Sylvia, so she chose to carry it, and then give her child to the one who would cherish him most, to you," Marianne had looked at Orion then and smiled a bittersweet smile. "Remus, she loved you."

He had been startled by this revelation. Sylvia had never spoken of her feelings for him going so deep. He wished that she had. He wished that she had said that she loved him. He wished that he had told her that he loved her, if only once before she was gone. She had deserved to hear it.

"And I love you too," Marianne had continued. "Sylvia and I talked about it in the last few months. She knew that the likelihood of survival was slim. She made out her will and I agreed with her decisions. Don't try to fight it, Remus just accept it with grace."

Remus had been surprised by the contents of Sylvia's Last Will and Testament. Other than a few bequeaths of some of her precious books to a few of her friends she had left the bulk of her estate to Remus Lupin in care of Orion Lupin, her son. Remus had found himself the owner of a townhouse in Rennes, owner of the De Rais Books both the store in London and the older and more prosperous store in Rennes. She had left him her home in Rennes and her London flat. He was also the owner of the Cottage in Pace that Marianne lived in but there were conditions drawn to ensure that Marianne would be permitted to live at the cottage as she pleased for the rest of her days. Remus had been overwhelmed and grateful to Sylvia. When he had met her, he had been a man who had lost everything that he truly cared about. She had given him her friendship, her son, and her life's work.

After Marianne's death when Orion was two years of age, Remus had renovated parts of the cottage property to be able to contain him while he was transformed during the full moon. He then began a cycle where he worked three months in Rennes and then he left for a week with Orion to the cottage to spend a week there away from the hustle and bustle of city life. During the week of his absence, the store was run by his friend and employee Jacques Morbanne.

Remus allowed himself to stay in the tub until the healing herbs lost their potency. The water was chilled, and his skin was moisture wrinkled when he finally arose from the tub and began to dry off. He was all too happy to put on the soft lounge slacks and a gray t-shirt that had been set aside for him. He donned his robe and put his feet into his slippers. He combed his hair and sighed as he noticed the few gray hairs. He was aging more swiftly than most his age. It was part of him being a werewolf, he knew. The transformation was hard on the body and the wolf often turned on itself while caged. More than once, Remus had returned to the House bleeding from various scratches that his own claws had burrowed into his flesh.

He met his blue eyes in the mirror and held his own gaze for a few moments. Amber danced in his irises, mixing with the blue. Another sign that the Wolf within was still too close to the surface. His temper could be in-sighted more easily on days like this, but fortunately, he only had plans to spend the day relaxing with his son.

Speaking of the mischievous little angel, he needed to get downstairs and make a large lunch for them both. He smiled as he made his way from the bathroom and down the stairs to the kitchen. His boy was in the kitchen sitting at the table with a book on the table before him. The boy was reading softly out loud, sounding out the words on the pages. His reading skills were two levels above most boys his age thanks to their mutual love of books. Orion read most of the time that they were in Rennes. Their townhouse didn't have a large garden, but Orion did make good use of the space to play energetic games. Still, the boy preferred to read to almost any other type of entertainment. Remus was sure he must have gotten that from Sylvia since Sirius usually could not be counted upon the sit still for five seconds.

"Hey cub, what would you like for lunch?" he asked.

The child looked up at him and he smiled hesitantly. "I got out steaks," he said and pointed to the counter. "I thought that you might need it after last night."

Remus nodded in understanding. It always helped him to regain his strength more swiftly after a full moon night for him to eat red meat. "Steak it is," he agreed with the child, and then he went over to the counter and swiftly opened the cabinet above looking for a platter. Once he found what he was searching for, he made swift work of washing the meat and then beginning to season it.

He stole glances at Orion as the boy continued to read, this time in silence. "Read to me," he commanded the boy.

The child blinked in surprise. "Umm…" Orion nibbled on his bottom lip, a trait that painfully reminded him of Sylvia. "Do you want me to start back at the beginning of the chapter?"

Remus smiled and shook his head in the negative. "No, there's no need to go so far back. Just start from where you were reading," he reassured his boy.

"Alright!" Orion brightened up at this. He cleared his throat slightly and then began to read aloud to him as Remus prepared their lunch. Remus was surprised but pleased to hear his cub reading a well-beloved children's fantasy novel to him.

After lunch, Remus and Orion curled up together on the couch and the two of them alternated reading chapters of the book to one another. Remus smiled at one point when he realized that the boy had dozed off. He kissed the boy's black curls and smiled.

He would never have thought that he could be so content and happy. He never really thought he could have a child, a trade, a good life. He was so grateful to Sylvia and he always would be.