Disclaimer:Don't own Harry Potter and never will.

Female lead characters name is Lika pronounced Lee-ka.

Once Upon a Moon

Chapter 1

Lika Gypsy nervously walked out the door of her new home. She had only been in Britain for a week and this was the first time she had ventured outside. She had managed to keep herself occupied with unpacking and cleaning up till now, but she didn't have any excuses to hide anymore and besides, she was getting a case of cabin fever. Stepping outside, she fastened her cloak securely around her and set off for Hogmeade. Pausing to lock the front door with her wand, she noticed her neighbor's shaggy head was down. Obviously he was doing something in his garden. She hadn't met him yet but she didn't want to interrupt him when he was busy.

Remus Lupin looked up from degnoming his garden after hearing the soft swishing sound. At long last, he thought, the elusive new neighbor. He took her in from the back. She appeared to be quite young and her curly brown hair fell thickly to her waist. As she turned off of her path her long legs carried her in front of his own house and he could see long black lashes sweeping across her porcelain skin. His sharpened sense of smell easily picked up her subtle floral scent as she passed him. He suddenly felt the need to go into town so he dashed inside to clean up.

Lika wandered around the streets of Hogsmeade, window shopping and taking in the local witches and wizards. She felt as if she stood out like a sore thumb, like everyone knew she was American and didn't belong here. So far everyone she had passed had looked at her with open curiosity, but most smiled and said hello. She felt herself loosen up a bit.

Standing in front of Flourish and Blotts Books, she looked at the books in the window. There was a book that was very furry and had big brown eyes that were watching her dolefully. She felt a prickling on her neck and became aware that someone else was watching her, someone besides the book. She turned her head to the left and found herself staring into a pair of beautiful gray eyes, she could feel his gentleness, passion, sorrows and even his lust. She felt chills of sexual awareness chase up her spine.

His gray eyes met her green ones. They stared at each for a couple of seconds, but it felt like eons. She slowly gave him a dazzling smile, which he returned in full revealing his even white teeth. He started toward her, still maintaining eye contact. Halfway there he heard his name, trying to ignore it he continued forward, but the person stepped into his path interrupting his view.

"Remus!" exclaimed the woman who stopped him. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Sorry Tonks. Must be another planet today." Remus said. He looked past Tonks's shoulder for the bewitching woman, but it was too late. She had disappeared.

Lika walked into Flourish and Blotts and started perusing the selections. It was absolutely fascinating. She had never been in a wizard book shop before. She was standing in the werewolf section when she felt another prickling on the back of her neck but chose to ignore it this time. She couldn't say why, but this man unnerved her so she picked up the closest book to her and made her way to the front where an elderly wizard was assisting people. She heard a man's voice behind her call out the name Remus and turned slightly, to look at him inconspicuously. So the handsome wizards name is Remus. Quite a few people seem to know him.

After Remus had managed to untangle himself from Sirius, one of his oldest friends, he again looked around for the green-eyed witch. He cursed under his breath as he realized she had vanished for the second time in an hour. Now where has she gone?

Lika decided she was hungry as she passed a little cafÉ so she sat down. At once a house elf was at her side offering her everything on the menu. After the elf was gone she pulled the book out of her bag, she didn't even know what she had picked up. She looked at the title and saw Werewolf Injustices, a History From Past to Present by Sirius Black. So while waiting for her food she cracked it open and began to read. The more she read the more oblivious she became to everything around her. She could feel the sadness settling on her and didn't even notice when her food was brought to her. How can people be so cruel to wizard kind?

Remus passed the Three Broomsticks and caught a whiff of a newly familiar floral scent, turning his head he scanned the swarm of people sitting. There she is. She was sitting alone at a table totally engrossed in a book. He quickly made his way over to the vacant table that was facing her. He sat down and watched her over his menu. Her thick curls were tumbling over her shoulders and spilling onto the table, her cloak had been removed to reveal a blouse of deep green, which only seemed to magnify her eyes to an even richer shade.

Those eyes, he noticed, were darting over the pages of the book. He felt a slam of panic in his gut as he took in what she was reading. Then he relaxed, it was ridiculous to get worked up every time something about a werewolf came up. As an afterthought he realized she had Sirius' book.

He watched her read for a while, taking in the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He watched her eyes as they narrowed in anger a few times and then he saw them fill with tears, he assumed over a werewolf injustice, and he felt an entirely different slam in his stomach. Remus had the insane urge to go and comfort her sorrow but tamped it down.

After a lone tear had streaked down her cheek she remembered where she was. Lika gently closed the book and noticed her food was in front of her. She pulled the plate toward her and realized she felt entirely too depressed to eat now. A drawback of being a Seer, she felt emotions so much stronger than others did. She drifted away in her thoughts as she envisioned all the horrible things she had just read about and found she could hear their pained screams echoing in her head, feeling the tears well up again she bit her lip hard so she would stop tearing. Neck prickling for a third time that day, Lika looked up and once again found the gaze of a passionate pair of gray eyes boring into her.

Remus stared at her for a moment before getting up. He walked over to her like a man with a purpose, damned if he was going to be deterred again. He stopped in front of her and gave her his most charming smile, which she returned in a heartbeat.

"Hi there." He said in a deep rumbling voice.

Lika was glad she was sitting because her knees would have given out on her. Oh that voice is like velvet. And the accent.....she thought with a delightful shudder.

"Hello." She replied, still smiling.

"Oh. You're American." He stated rather than asked.

"Yep. Fresh off the farm." She said.

"The farm?" He inquired curiously.

"It's an American slang expression. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. May I join you?" He asked.

She evaluated him for a moment before nodding and watched him as he sat in the chair opposite her. He looked at her for a moment, his tawny hair falling over his forehead lending him a boyish look to his very manly face.

"I'm Remus. Remus Lupin."

"Lika Gypsy. It's nice to meet you." She said. "Remus is an interesting name."

"So is Lika." He shot back with a smile. She seemed to be feeling him out as she smiled back. "So are you just visiting here?" He inquired.

"Nope. I moved here about a week ago. This is the first opportunity I've had to get out and explore the village. Unpacking is so time-consuming. You just never get used to it." Nerves had her rambling and she kicked herself for revealing too much to a stranger.

"Do you move a lot?" he asked with interest.

"Unfortunately." She said in a flat tone that told him that wasn't something she wished to talk about. "What do you do Mr. Lupin?" She asked in a blatant attempt to change topics. He just smiled and looked her in the eyes as he spoke.

"Please call me Remus. I'm a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. What about you?"

Lika felt a flutter in her chest. She was going to be working with him. Thisshould be an interesting year. "I'm going to be teaching Divination. I'm replacing Professor Trelawney at Hogwarts. So, I guess we'll be working together."

"Well, isn't that a coincidence!" He said as his heart lightened. He definitely wouldn't mind seeing more of Lika.

They sat in an awkward silence for a moment, each gauging what the other might be thinking. Finally Remus spoke "So what are you reading?"

"I was reading about werewolf injustices." She said sadly. "I had to put it down though, it is so upsetting. I can't believe how they treat those wizards. Like it's their fault they got bit. Hmm, I think I'll become a werewolf today. As if!" Her cheeks were turning pink during her rant and Remus found her passion of the subject absolutely endearing though unbelievable.

"You refer to them as wizards yet they are werewolves. You don't think they deserve what they get? They are very dangerous, after all." He said, careful to keep his face impassive though his gut was twisting.

Lika was taken aback by that remark. She was an excellent judge of character and knew he didn't really mean what he said. She was angry that he was trying to provoke her. "They are wizards for all but three days a month. I don't think anyone deserves that fate." She said coldly. "There are other ways to deal with issues rather than murder. If you'll excuse me Professor, I need to be getting home." She jumped out of her chair and started gathering her many shopping bags up.

Remus sensed her anger and felt a surge of guilt for provoking her. He usually had to put up a front with everyone and hadn't come across someone whowasn't anti-werewolf. He didn't know what to say, he just knew he felt like an ass.

"Lika please. I'm sorry if I offended you. I actually have the same view point as you. I've just rarely met anyone else who had that opinion. Everyone thinks w- they are awful creatures who are out to destroy wizard kind. No one should have to be put through that, no matter what they are." He said with a visible shudder as he stood to stop her. He placed his hand on hers to stop her from collecting more packages. "Please don't leave yet."

As soon as he touched her he knew something was horribly wrong. Her warm skin went ice cold in about two seconds, she shuddered and her eyes went hazy. He stood there dumbfounded. Is she ill?

Lika stood there with his hand on hers and felt the iciness run through her

veins and despair take over. She felt his melancholy, she felt an animal anger that she had not felt in these instances and she felt pain like she had never felt before, like another being was trying to burst out of her. Sadness and loneliness seemed key. Her free hand went to her head to try and soothe away the intense ache. Remus kept his hand where it was and looked perplexed as she finally managed to yank her captured hand away from his grasp. She immediately sank to the ground and began shivering and gasping for breath as both her hands now massaged her throbbing forehead.

Remus was in a state of panic. What the hell just happened? He knelt down beside her and stroked her back. "Lika, are you all right?" He asked, his voice full of concern. He grabbed her cloak from the back of her chair and wrapped it around her, then untied his own from around his shoulders and bundled her in that one too. She was as cold as a corpse and it was scaring him. He hesitantly grabbed her hand again, waiting a moment to make sure she was ok, he pulled her to her feet and settled her back in her seat.

"Can you hear me? Are you ok?" Remus repeated still in a panicky voice. "Please say something."

Lika sat there in silence, staring at the hand holding hers and stroking her palm soothingly. She hated when people touched her for the first time. It always left her weak and out of sorts. The low point in their life seemed to flash in her mind and she felt as they had during that period. She was confused about this last vision though. I've never felt as if something was going to burst from me before, Remus Lupin obviously has some secrets. After the first initial touch from the conductor everything was ok, she felt nothing but her own emotions and his touch. His long tapered fingers stroking her palm felt very good indeed and she found that couldn't answer his simple question while he was doing that. She felt her blood heating back up as she watched his deft fingers.

Remus saw her eyes cloud over and he thought it was something to do with her current erratic condition. What he was mistaking was actually passion, he realized after he saw her eyes hood as they bore into his. His exceptional hearing heard her purr low in her throat. He felt desire course through him as he watched her. Lika wanted nothing more than to kiss this stranger senseless. He was making her crazy with nothing but a soft touch to her hand. She continued to stare at him as he moved his fingers to the softness at her wrist, where he felt her pulse beating wildly under his finger. He wrapped his long fingers around her delicate wrist and stared into her green eyes as he tugged her closer. Losing the internal battle, he felt himself leaning forward, not yet sure what he intended to do. He pressed a soft kiss to the inside of her wrist and felt her blood pound through her vein beneath his lips. He dully noticed that Lika was breathing raggedly and her eyes had completely lost all focus now as she leaned toward him.

They were a mere half-inch away from each other when she realized what was happening. "Oh my, I'm so embarrassed. Mr. Lupin, I'm so sorry. I'm fine now. Please excuse me." She said blushing profusely as she found her voice at last.

Being denied her kiss, which at the moment seemed the most important thing in his life, had Remus feeling cheated. He was still leaning forward as he stared at her. He snapped out of it and jerked back into his chair. What the hell is wrong with me? People like her don't belong with my kind. He rose gracefully off his chair with a look of sorrow in his kind eyes and took the two steps to her. He gently grasped her elbow and pulled her out of her chair, then began gathering up her fallen shopping bags.

"Remus. Call me Remus. Come on. I'll walk you home." He said in a tender voice as he turned to her, laden with bags.

"Oh really, that's not necessary. There's no need to go out of your way for me. I'm fine now. Honestly." She said insistently, still blushing hotly. She had never felt this wanton, this needy in her life.

"Now there's no use arguing. It's final. I'm seeing you home. And it's not out of the way. I also happen to be your neighbor. I saw you leaving this morning." He said sheepishly.

"Oh." She said flatly. Great, he's my co-worker and neighbor. I've made an absolute ass of myself in front of him. Not to mention I would have jumped him outside in a public restaurant. Let's not forget that. She fell into step beside him as he led the way to her house. She was actually glad he was there, as she wasn't sure she could find her way home in her current state. Lika reached out to take her shopping bags from him but he moved them out of her reach.

"Let me carry them. It's not fair that you are stuck with them. You didn't buy all of it." She said sincerely.

"Don't be daft." He chuckled as he tugged them back away again.

Lika stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at him. He followed suit and stopped also. She didn't know if she'd been insulted or not. So she just looked up at him and said "What does daft mean?"

He gave her another dazzling smile as he said "Daft means stupid, thick, ridiculous, dumb, preposterous, stubbor..."

"Ok, ok I get it, I get it." She interrupted with a smile as she began to walk again. "Sorry. We don't use that word in America. I'm adjusting to the culture shock."

"What brings you all the way to a different country anyway? Running away?" He said astutely. He felt her stiffen beside him and while she spoke politely her tone gave her away.

"Just ready for a change." She said shortly.

"Awfully far away for a change." He replied. He left it at that as he watched her lose herself in thought again. She really was quite tall compared to most of the witches he knew but she still only came up to his shoulders. Her auburn hair blowing in the breeze had him captivated. Staring at her could really become a habit he thought as he shifted his gaze to her face, fascinated by the way she worried her lower lip. He felt a dull ache start. His nature caused him to be more lustful than other wizards,but he had never reacted to any woman this way before. He didn't even know her, but he felt as though he did. She had a kind of easy calm that put his troubled soul at ease. As if she were absorbing some of his pain.

Lika could hear his thoughts turning over in his head and could feel his arousal surging through him as he took her hand. She chanced a glance at him and found his eyes scrutinizing her. She gave a light smile as he stared her down. "What?" She said nervously.

Remus watched her with an unknown intensity. He couldn't say what he was looking for, he just knew that he was seeing into the depths of her very soul. He felt her loneliness wash over him and he could hear her tears echoing in his mind. Then her happiness washed over him, like sunshine warming his blood and heart. What is going on? Why am I seeing these things? Something isn't right. Abruptly he let go of her hand and began walking, quicker than before. Lika was totally perplexed as she practically ran to keep up with him. What is his problem?

She let him brood as he hurried along, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was still following him. Lika tried to gauge his mood but his face was like stone, his eyes were carefully guarded and he had put up an internal wall; she couldn't even pick up a single emotion. She decided she didn't need to try to keep up with him and slowed her pace back to normal. As she walked along she became engrossed in her own thoughts; she didn't even notice the sky had gone black, though she felt the abrupt coldness run over.

Falling backwards onto the ground, she felt her head painfully hit the sidewalk. Stars shot behind her lids and everything seemed to swirl around her as she blacked out.

Remus felt a jolt of panic go through his chest and looked around for the cause. Dementors are here, he thought as he noticed the black sky. "Lika?" he called softly, but did not get an answer.

He was glad for his sharpened eyes as he began scanning the darkness behind him to find her. He quickly spotted her, lying on the ground apparently unconscious. Above her were two hooded Dementors, one of which had lowered its hood and was leaning down purposefully. Fear tore through him as he dropped the shopping bags to rip his wand from his robes.

"Expecto Patronum!" He roared as a silver jet of light erupted from his wand. The Dementors took off down the street and the sky immediately lit up again. As soon as they had gone he ran to where Lika's body lay unmoving on the ground.

Remus dropped to his knees and lifted her easily into his strong arms. He Apparated to her dropped shopping bags to gather them up, careful not to drop or bump Lika's unconscious form. He then Apparated directly to his own house since he didn't know what type of supplies she would have at hers. Guilt clawed at him as he kicked himself for not keeping a close eye on her. This is all my fault. She doesn't know what creatures to look out for. Dementors only live here; she probably doesn't even what they are. His heart was heavy as he thought about what had almost happened. What if I hadn't walked her home? She'd be worse than dead. He laid her gently on the sofa then rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a bar of chocolate from the cabinet. He settled himself next to her pale thin frame, observing her dark lashes sweeping over pink, clammy cheeks.

He broke off a piece of chocolate and slipped into her partially open mouth, he shuddered as her lips grazed over his fingers causing his blood to stir hotly. This is hardly the time. Focus Lupin. He removed his wand from his pocket again and muttered the spell to revive her.

Lika's eyes popped open immediately and tried to focus on her surroundings but it was too dark. I don't know where I am, she thought with an edge of panic. She tried to sit up but felt strong arms pushing at her shoulders and her panic escalated. She tried to sit up a second time only to be restrained again; so she struck out blindly, aiming for her captor.

Remus' hand caught her fist deftly before it could make contact with his head. "Lika please. You must relax. You're going to be feeling very weak right now and you need to lie still. Eat the chocolate, it will help."

"Remus?" She inquired tentatively.

I love the way my name rolls off of her tongue, he thought before answering. "Yes. I'm here. It's okay now. You're safe."

She instantly relaxed as she spoke "It's so dark in here. Where are we?"

She heard him mutter the lighting spell and suddenly she was bathed in warm candlelight. Lika saw him sitting next to her on the sofa; he looked very worried indeed. "We're at my house. I didn't know what supplies you would have on hand so I figured this was best. Here, have some more chocolate."

"I'm so hot. What happened?" She asked.

Remus began to untie the two cloaks from around her neck as he answered "You faced the Dementors and fell down. I think you must have..." He trailed off as his hand accidently brushed against her breast. Lika inhaled sharply, which Remus might have missed had he been a normal man, as she gazed at him through hooded eyes. "Pardon me." He blushed as he continued "You must have hit your head. You've got a nasty bump on the back of it."

Lika felt like she was on fire when his hand came in contact with her breast and it took everything she had not to moan. So she decided to just pretend like it didn't happen. "What's a Dementor?" She asked quizzically.

Remus looked at her hesitantly, gauging how honest to be with her. She looked so angelic he hated to tell her the truth but he plunged on without looking at her. "Dementors are soul suckers. They steal every happy memory you've ever had and live off your misery." He decided to omit the part about her almost being kissed by one. He felt the guilty sickness rise up again as he thought about her having her soul sucked out by the Dementor with the lowered hood.

"Oh" She said flatly, as she watched him break off another piece of chocolate. She opened her mouth obligingly and took it. Her lips brushed against his hand as he withdrew. Lika could see him close his eyes as he suppressed a shudder. Good! I'm not the only one feeling something here.

She felt the sofa shift as he rose to go to the kitchen. She heard him clanking around for a few minutes till he came back with a smoking goblet of potion. "Here, Drink this. It will help with your head." He said gently.

"Thanks. I'm sorry to inconvenience you Remus, it's nice of you to help me like this. I'll go after I've finished the potion." She said as she took the smoldering cup from him. She drank deeply and felt a sweet yet dull burn in her throat as it went down.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're going to stay here until I'm satisfied, I have experience in these matters. Let me fix you something to eat." He said insistently as he hovered over her.

Lika felt a rush of gratitude. She didn't really want to be alone right now and she kind of liked Remus fussing over her. "You're so nice. Thank you." She said as she sat up tentatively.

"It's no more than anyone else would have done." He said as he shrugged off her compliment, though inside he was bursting.

Lika grabbed his hand as he turned to go back to the kitchen. Her fingers linked with his so they were pressed palm to palm. This allowed her to feel his emotions and him to feel hers. "It's more than a lot of people would have done and I think you know that." She used his hand for leverage to stand and steady herself. Her head barely reached his shoulders she noticed as she reached up to push a tawny lock of hair off his forehead. Her hot breath blowing on his already sensitized flesh as she leaned forward and whispered "So thank you." Lika pressed a soft kiss to his cheek as she retreated. Remus' stomach clenched and his eyes drifted shut as the air sizzled with awareness. "Come on. I'm starving. I'll help you in the kitchen." Lika said as she tugged him along behind her.

They had great conversation during the meal preparation and even during dinner; they found they had a lot in common and talked well into the night. She found Remus to be quite charming and he was totally ensnared with her. Lika was basking in the warm glow, she wasn't sure if it was from the candles or the company. She looked around at her surroundings and noticed the clock on the wall which jolted her back to her senses. It was two in the morning. Where has the night gone, she wondered to herself.

"I'd better go. It's very late." She said as she stood and stretched.

"I suppose all good things must come to an end. Let me walk you home." He said rising also.

"Thank you." She said as he slipped her cloak on her and then grabbed her hand. He magicked the shopping bags to float in front of them.

As he guided her to the front door he felt an inexplicable sense of closeness. He had never felt like this with anyone. They walked up the darkened path to her house and she felt a sadness to see the evening end. She unlocked the front door as they stopped in front of it. Remus continued guiding her packages until they came to rest gently on the table.

"Well, good night Lika. It was an absolute pleasure and I hope to see you again." He said as he gazed into her shadowed eyes.

"Thank you Remus. For everything you've done for me. I don't think you fully realize how much you actually have done. And believe me, the pleasure was mutual"

He pulled her hand up to his lips and gave a gentle kiss to her palm, which she felt like a kiss to her soul. Her knees buckled but she raised her other hand to his hair and smoothed the unruly lock that had fallen over his eye again. She smiled and turned toward the door.

"Oh Remus." She called out to him. "Never underestimate yourself." And with that she turned and closed the door behind her.

All feedback is welcome. Thanks for reading!