"Sigh No More"

Or, "The Redeeming Tale of Remus Lupin." Or, "What Remus Lupin's Life Would Be Like If Things Had Turned Out Slightly Differently."

Chapter 1

August 1991

Remus Lupin stood at the edge of a long row of people, feeling rather uncomfortable. It was not just that he was the only wizard among thousands of bustling Muggles, or that his attempt at Muggle fashion was obviously a bit off the mark, but that he was waiting for someone that he had never met before in a place he had never thought he would ever step foot.

He was standing in a very crowded Muggle airport. Many flustered people shoved past him with their luggage, but he dared not find a better spot. He had been instructed specifically to wait under the bright green side that read "Baggage Claim." The only other bits of information he had were that his guest would be arriving at around 4:30 in the afternoon, and that she would be the one to come find him.

At once he realized he was eyeing every female in the vicinity, in a vain attempt to locate his charge, and so turned his eyes elsewhere, to the revolving baggage. He marveled for a moment at how the Muggles had come up with such a magical-looking device, but was soon interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing.

"Excuse me," said an old, stout woman in front of him, carrying an excessive amount of luggage.

Remus almost jumped in surprise. He did not know what to say. For some reason, he had not been expecting such a woman. For a second he wondered what kind of woman he had been expecting.

The stout woman leered up at him. He was confused for a moment, and opened up his mouth to say something, when the woman cut him off. "Would you mind getting out of the way?"

"Pardon me," he said, and let her slip past.

As he did so, he noticed that someone appeared to be looking right at him from near the turnstile. He quickly hopped under the sign again, to be sure his guest would know it was him. Sure enough, the woman gave a small smile of recognition and wheeled a humongous suitcase over to him.

"Remus?" she said hopefully. She was tall and thin, with dark hair that was presently tied into a knot at the nape of her neck.

"Yes, you must be Nina." He was grateful that she was much younger than the first woman he spoke to. But as soon as he thought it, he tried to erase that thought from his conscious. He was here as a favor to a friend, not for anything else.

As they shook hands, Remus could not shake the strange feeling that he was on a blind date.

"May I help you with your suitcase?" he offered, hoping it wasn't instilling the same feeling in his new acquaintance.

"Oh, thank you! Sorry it's so huge…I really did try to pack light."

"It's nothing," Remus smiled, though belatedly. He was very thrown by her American accent.

"And thank you for coming to receive me," she said sincerely as she took off her cardigan, revealing a simple sleeveless gray dress that fell just above her knees, her tan legs stretching out beneath. She looked exceedingly like a Muggle. She was even wearing flip-flops.

"It's no trouble, really." He led her out onto the pavement, where a gust of wind greeted them.

"Oh my God, it's cold," said Nina. She quickly wrapped her thin cardigan back on. Remus smiled, but didn't say anything. It was summer.

"So you're a friend of Hestia's?" Nina asked, following slightly behind him.

"Yes, we went to school together and we used to work together, as well." He ushered her across a crosswalk and tried to get an inconspicuous look at her face before he asked his next question: "And you're a relative of Albus Dumbledore's?"

"I believe the proper term is 'first cousin, twice removed,' on my father's side. I'm really looking forward to meeting him. You know him, right?"

"He was my headmaster at school and is something of a common name among the wizarding community."

She giggled. "I love how you use the phrase 'wizarding community.'"

Remus couldn't help but smile back at her, though he was perplexed all the same. Hestia told him that although she was arriving by Muggle transportation, Nina was, in fact, a witch. He couldn't help but go for the bait. "Is that an odd phrase to you?" he asked, still smiling.

"It is, but also a very refreshing thing to hear. I think wizarding is very, very different back in the States."

His curiosity was peaked, as was his desire to continue talking to her. Unfortunately, they had already been walking for a while, and it was time for them to take a different sort of transportation.

"May I ask you take hold of my forearm? That way we can arrive together at Hestia's."

"Sure." Her eyes twinkled, just as he would imagine a tanned American girl's would, and she gripped his arm tightly.

When they arrived on the threshold of Hestia's house, Nina detached her grip from Remus, but stayed right next to him. He opened the door and ushered her inside.

It was a sweet little cottage in which Hestia lived with her long-time boyfriend, Bernie. Neither Hestia or Bernie were home at present.

"It's a good thing Bernie knows how to use a phone," Nina muttered as they shuffled into the cozy living room. "I couldn't believe my flight was delayed for eight hours! And I guess it's a good thing they have a friend as nice as you, willing to go out of your way and everything to pick me up."

"Well, as they both work during this time, and I was available…" He was trying to find a good spot to stow her suitcase, which couldn't fit between any of the chairs or sofas. He settled with levitating the huge thing into a neat little corner.

Nina had sat down beside him and was looking at his wand. "May I ask what your wand is made of?"

He looked back at her with the same interested stare. "Interesting question," he said. "It's banyan wood with unicorn tail hair."

"Wonderful…" she said, still looking at it.

Daring to go out on a limb, because he had never before had occasion to ask this question to a grown witch, he asked, "Do you have a wand, Nina?"

"Oh," she said, sitting back into the sofa, "no. I'm planning on getting one really soon, though. It's actually one of the main reasons I'm here in England."

"Could you not get a wand in the States, then?"

She sighed. "No, not unless you could make your own. That's one of the many, many differences I was talking about."

"We have a while," Remus smiled, gesturing to the clock on the wall. "Hestia won't be home for another hour."

When her smile widened, he wondered if she was as excited as him to talk for an hour.

"Well, where do I even begin…."

He sat, enraptured by her life's story of being a witch in America. Every word that came out of her mouth made him sit on the edge of his chair, like she was lulling him towards her with the sound of her melodious voice. It was an exciting tale of adventure and secrets and a loving family that was dramatically ripped apart. He knew, even as she was speaking, that he would remember every single detail of this conversation.

Just then, the front door opened, knocking the two of them out of a reverie. The sound of a cheerful greeting issued its way toward them.

"Hello, hello!"

Remus and Nina stood up at once to see Hestia coming inside and closing the door behind her. She was quite short, and had a pleasant face that nearly always had a smile. She wore black robes that blended perfectly with her shoulder-length black hair.

"Well, ah! Hello, there, Ms. Nina! It's so good to finally meet you!"

"And you, Ms. Hestia!"

They greeted each other with a hug. Hestia came over and hugged Remus as well, giving him a glowing "thank you" for picking up her dear guest.

"And you must stay for dinner, Remus; Bernie'll be home in a bit and I'm making chops!"