Disclaimer- I own nothing.
A/N This is the new thing I've been going on about. A few of them can be answered easily but others will have wait until later, when there are more chapters up. Updates may come slowly as it gets closer to Christmas, work has been picking up and I've little time to scribble on post its. I hope this one is as enjoyable as the last one. There is a good possibility that it turns out as long as Supposed Happiness. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.
"Brenna? Come on, then." Remus said turning to the child following behind him.
She sat a few meters back, clutching her left leg to her chest and fighting tears.
"What's wrong?" He questioned kneeling beside her.
"I fell." With a sniffle she showed a large scrape across her knee.
Cautiously the werewolf reached for his wand, preparing to do a healing spell. Movement across the street caught his eyes, a man was watching them while he watered his flowers.
"It's only a scratch." He said comfortingly, "We'll have Aunt Hermione take a look at it when we get to her house."
The child nodded and allowed him to help her up. Though they were running quite late, the older man slowed his pace so she could walk beside him. It wasn't such a long way to Ron and Hermione's house, he assured himself, Brenna would be fine.
"Grandpa." A small voice whispered accompanied by a tug on the back of his shirt.
"Yes?" He asked looking down.
"It's bleeding a lot."
The blood had run down her leg and was staining the top of her white sock. Quickly he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and tied it tightly around the wound.
"It'll be fine." He said smiling, "Come on, I'll carry you."
Obediently she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he continued up the sidewalk. Most children would have cried over such an injury, there was no doubt that it hurt, but Brenna remained silent and still. Remus did not worry though, she had been like that for a long time, uncomplaining, stoic and occasionally apathetic.
Soon they came to a house with a low stone wall and a wooden gate. There were many brightly colored flowers growing along the fence and the front of the house. Some were so large they nearly covered the stone path leading to the door. At the sight of them Brenna smiled and asked to be put down.
As soon as her feet touched the earth she was off amongst the flowers, touching the petals and smelling the blossoms. He watched a moment, feeling less unhappy about what he was going to do in a few minutes.
Every month he brought his grand-daughter here for a few days during the full moon. This arrangement was not only for her safety, but his peace of mind. He still took the wolfsbane potion which allowed him to retain something of his own mind after he changed, but he refused to risk the well-being of the child. There was always a chance, whether imagined or real, that the potion might not work.
"You'd best get out of the flowers, wouldn't want your aunt getting upset with you." He warned.
Brenna smiled at him, her green eyes shining in the afternoon sun.
"Come on." He called again.
She joined him on the front step and tucked her small hand into his larger one. It was a subtle sign of affection but Remus found it reassuring.
There was a loud thud and the sound of voices within the house and suddenly the door opened. Standing there was a tall red haired man carrying a boy of about nine. Both man and boy looked upset at the intrusion of Remus and Brenna.
"Ron." Remus said with a nod.
"Remus." The man answered stiffly.
With a heavy sigh Ron set the boy on the ground and wiped a few tears from his face.
"Go play with your brother."
"But Daddy..." The boy began.
"Caleb, I said go and play."
Reluctantly the boy turned and walked back down the short hall, giving his father a last doleful look before he turned the corner to the living area.
"You're late." Ron said.
"Brenna fell and scraped her knee. Perhaps Hermione could look at it." Remus replied, squeezing the girls hand.
Suddenly catching sight of the now bloody handkerchief slipping down Brenna's leg, Ron's frown deepened.
"You couldn't spare a moment to fix it?" Ron asked bending down to inspect the wound closer.
"There were muggles watching, I couldn't exactly stand in the middle of the street and perform a healing spell."
"Does it hurt?" Ron asked Brenna as he wiped the blood off her leg with the handkerchief.
She shook her head.
"Well, I'll bet your aunt can fix that right up, she's out in the back garden with Neville." He replied reaching for her hand.
For a moment she stared as if she didn't know what to do, then she reached out and let him pull her down the hall.
"You can come in, I'm sure Hermione'll make you a cup of tea. Just close the door behind you."He called back to Remus.
"Yes, of course."
They continued through the living room and past a short hall with stairs leading upward, into the kitchen.
"Oh, Remus." Said a soft voice.
Sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen was a young witch was long blonde hair reaching to her waist. Her eyebrows were highly arched over her big blue eyes, as if she were greatly surprised to see him.
"Luna." He said in greeting, smiling a little as she kicked her feet against the leg of her stool.
"Brenna." Luna called to the girl.
"I know you." Brenna replied with a grin.
Ron waved a vague command to Remus and pulled Brenna to the glass sliding doors that led to the garden. Through them the back garden was visible, filled with just as many flowers as the front. Hermione and Neville stood in front of a group of magenta colored snapdragons that kept shaking menacingly. Upon closer inspection tiny strings tied about the mouth of each bloom were visible.
"Whats going on out there?" Remus asked sitting on a stool beside Luna.
"Hermione's snapdragons spit at the neighbor's dog again. Turned him a lovely shade of blue."
"I see."
"She's let them get too strong, you've got to give them a good scare now and then, remind them who's in charge."
"Why didn't she just plant normal flowers? It would have saved a lot of trouble."
"Neville assumed she'd take care of them."
"Can they fix the problem?"
"It's to late. They've taken over the garden, all the other flowers answer to them. If they remove the snapdragons there could be an uprising."
"An uprising?" Remus asked incredulously
"Oh yes," She nodded frantically, "Dangerous things, magic plants. They'd just uproot themselves and carry the family off in the night. Happens to muggles all the time."
"I see."
"How are you, by the way?" She said, changing the subject abruptly.
He watched as Hermione stopped speaking with Neville and bent to give her niece a hug. Ron was talking, probably explaining how Brenna had been injured due to Remus' neglect. The woman held a hand up to stop his talking and pulled out her wand. With a single wave and a few words the wound was healed, another wave of the wand removed the blood from her leg and sock.
"Did you hear me? I thought werewolves had a keen sense of hearing?" Luna repeated sounding a bit frustrated.
"What?" He asked and turned to look at her.
"I asked how you are."
"Oh, fine."
"Don't let him get to you. He's just jealous."
The second rapid change in subject made him blink in confusion.
"Ron. He's just jealous. Thought Harry would leave her to him."
"Luna?"
"Really, Neville told me. Not that I didn't pick up on it by myself."
"It's been three years, I don't think he even remembers why he doesn't like me."
"Because the will left her to you. Harry was his best friend, he figured he'd be her guardian. It hurts him that his friend didn't trust him."
"I don't think it had anything to do with trust."
Suddenly she shook her head and looked at him seriously, pale eyebrows knit together in a grimace, "You're wrong, it had everything to do with trust."
Remus opened his mouth to ask her what she meant, but was interrupted but the sliding door opening again.
"Look, Grandpa, Aunt Hermione fixed my knee." Brenna grinned and held her leg up for him to see.
He smiled and caught her shoulder as she lost her balance.
"I'm going to go find Caleb and Leander, Uncle Ron said Will was here too."
"Yes, he's upstairs with the others." Luna answered, her serious demeanor forgotten.
"Neville says the only thing he can do is tie up their blossoms, he'll have to do more research to find out how to stop them from spitting as much." Ron told Luna as he sat on the other side of the island.
"He'll figure it out." She replied gazing at her hands clasped tightly in her lap.
"This wouldn't have happened if you had gotten the normal snapdragons." Neville stated as he opened the door and let Hermione enter first.
"You were the one who told me the magic ones were heartier." Hermione answered looking annoyed.
"Don't try to peg this on me." Neville said rolling his eyes.
"I was only following your advice."
"Well now we have a bunch of plants that we can't tame. Perhaps next time you should listen to everything I say and not just what you want to hear." His words sounded harsh but the smile tugging at his lips softened them.
"I did no such thing. I just wanted a plant I didn't have to take care of."
"You haven't taken care of those plants since I planted them. Remember, you're the one asked me to come out every weekend and tend them. You are also the one who knew I was going to be gone for three weeks at a seminar and did nothing to keep your plants under control."
Hermione glared at him as if she would have liked to argue the point.
"Next time just follow the instructions." Neville concluded with a smile.
"Hermione's gone soft. I remember when we were in school, she was always so insistent about rules and directions and things like that." Ron said.
"I have not gone soft." She insisted.
"Then why did our garden accost Mrs. Smith's poodle?"
Her mouth opened and closed a few times while everyone tried not to laugh.
"Calm down. I was only joking." Ron said touching her shoulder lightly.
Though she was still scowling, her stance softened and she allowed him to kiss her cheek.
"Does anyone want a cup of tea?" Luna asked suddenly.
"I'll make the tea, this is my house." Hermione said quickly.
"Right then." Luna said moving away from the cabinets.
"So Remus, how have things been with you?" Hermione asked as she went about making tea.
"Well enough." He replied.
"Good to hear." Ron said shortly, "How was the seminar, Neville?"
Neville frowned a little and shot an apologetic look at Remus, "Good."
"What was it about again?" Hermione asked.
"Whether the type of wood used in a wand affects the user's ability to cast certain types of spells. It was interesting, despite having nothing to do with Medical Herbology."
Remus listened while the others spoke. He appreciated Hermione's attempt to include him in the conversation. A few years ago he would have answered in depth, but time and Ron's hostility had led him to be an observer and nothing more.
"I think I'll be going." He said quietly declining the cup of tea offered to him.
"But you've not had any tea." Luna protested.
"It's getting late, I should go..." He let the sentence hang.
"Oh, yes." She whispered.
"I'll be back in a few days to get Brenna, thank you so much for keeping her."
"You know we love having her." Hermione smiled.
"Yes, perhaps next time she can stay longer." Ron added.
"Perhaps."
"I mean, she'll be starting school soon. She needs interaction with children her own age."
"Yes. It's two years before she goes to school, I think she'll be fine." The older man said patiently.
"You know as well as I do that she runs wild. She can't do that at Hogwarts. She can't hide under the furniture or simple choose not to answer when someone is speaking with her. She needs time to adjust to living with people other than you." Ron's tone was friendly enough, but there was an underlying edge to it.
"I'm going to say goodbye to her, thank you again." Remus said without meeting Ron's gaze.
"Remus... Remus, you know I'm right." Ron called after him.
In a way Ron was right, Brenna was sheltered. It might be beneficial for her to mingle more with children her own age. However, that would mean giving away custody and he was simply not willing to do that. Harry had stated specifically in his will that Remus was to be his daughter's legal guardian, it felt wrong to challenge that.
"Brenna?" He called up the stairs.
There was the sound of many feet running and suddenly three boys appeared at the top of the stairs.
"She's busy." Said the first.
He was tall with unruly red hair and compelling dark brown eyes.
"Could you get her for me, Leander?" Remus asked kindly, suppressing a smile.
"What did you need?" It was the same boy who had been carried to the door earlier, he had closely cropped brown hair and the same dark eyes as his brother, though something in the way he carried himself made them less impressive.
"I'm leaving. I wanted to say goodbye."
"I'll get her." The last boy said, blue eyes twinkling.
"Thank you, Will."
A few moments later Brenna was tripping down the stairs.
"I was making a castle, sorry I didn't hear you." She apologized.
"It's alright, I just wanted to let you know I was leaving."
"Can I go with you?" She asked hopefully.
"You know better. You need to stay here."
"Yes."
"Now give me a hug," He said bending down and holding out his arms, "I'll see you soon."
When he held her, he knew there was no way he would ever give her up.
"She'll be fine, Mr. Lupin. Her room is right next to mine." Leander said from the stairs.
"Thank you." Remus nodded to the boy.
"Bye." She whispered.
"Goodbye." He replied raising his wand to Apparate.
Her face was the last thing he saw as the world dissolved around him.