A Most Peculiar Twist of Fate

A Most Peculiar Twist of Fate

lone astronomer

Disclaimer: It all belongs to the mysterious genius, J. K. Rowling, who I am not. U2 owns the song. I don't own them, either. L

Summary: Ah yes… the one I've been waiting for. Just wanted to let you know how much fun this particular one was to write- I mean that. Really. I'm really proud of this. Flame me if you must. Sirius wants me to MS-TIE it… I might, but I might decide it's too cruel. For those of you who know what an MS-TIE is, tell me if I should or not, ok? And this can stand alone. It doesn't need any of the rest of my stories- all you have to know is that Peter is dead (he died in 5th year). Remus is also an Animagus- he's a lion. That's not really important though, so… read on.

Hmm, that was more like an Author's Note than a summary, wasn't it? Well…

Author's Note: It's about Ally… and Remus… when she finally gets back from NNCFWWW. In my opinion, my best work yet. Like I said, flame if you must, but be creative. Enjoy!

There, now the Summary is the Author's Note and the Author's Note is the Summary. J All is as it should be…

Author's Note II: The "She" gimmick is just so that the old readers don't have as much of an advantage over the new ones. It has nothing to do with 'This Was Falling' (although I really, really, really love that series) and the idea actually started even before I read that, but just came out now in 'print'. It demonstrates how alike Ally and Remus are in thinking…

Chronological Order Of My Series (hereby christened, 'A Hundred Thousand Mirrored Futures'):

1) When and If, chapters 1-16

2) Her Angel

3) When and If, chapters 17-25

4) Once Upon a Blue Moon

5) And Then There Were None

6) You Hope She Knows

7) Darkness on the Road to Nowhere

8) For the First Time

9) And the Beat Goes On

10) Still Dawn at Hogwarts

11) A Most Peculiar Twist of Fate

12) Anything For You

13) I Don't Know You Anymore

* * *

See the stone set in your eyes

See the thorn twist in your side

I'll wait for you

Slight of hand and twist of fate

On a bed of nails she makes me wait

And I wait without you

With or without you

With or without you

Through the storm we reach the shore

You give it all but I want more

And I wait for you

With or without you

With or without you, oh

I can't live

With or without you

And you give yourself away

And you give yourself away

And you give

And you give

And you give yourself away

My hands are tied

The body bruised she got me with

Nothing to win and nothing left to lose

And you give yourself away

And you give yourself away

And you give

And you give

And you give yourself away

With or without you

With or without you, oh

I can't live

With or without you

Oh, oh, oh, oh…

With or without you

With or without you, oh

I can't live

With or without you

With or without you…

-U2, With or Without You

* * *

A Most Peculiar Twist of Fate: The Story of She and the Werewolf One

Remus

Dawn broke on the campus, three overtired males awoke with groans as the magical speakers in the walls played out-of-tune Muggle music in a vain attempt to get us out of bed. One of us, one with dark hair and eyes, actually fell out of his bed and hit his head on the floor. My own head ached in sympathy- poor Sirius. He never was one for getting up early.

He swore softly into the near-darkness, pulling himself to his feet, and looked at me- I'd just sat up, I had a headache from the night before, although I'd never admit it.

"How you doing, Moony, old pal?" Sirius asked, rubbing one of his (presumably throbbing) temples.

"Better," I lied. Although the Wolfsbane potion I'd tested for the first time the week before allowed me to keep my mind when I transformed, it didn't do a whole lot to ease the pain. Still, I could see why She had been using it for so long: I was no longer any danger to my friends as long as I took it. The pain deepened for a moment.

"Good," James said, pulling himself out of his own bed with a reluctance that somehow matched our own, although he was surely the early riser out of the three of us. I stifled a grin thinking of how that would change when he finally married Lily (the wedding was scheduled for two days after graduation, which was looking farther off now that She was gone). "Who has dibs on the shower first this morning?"

"Me," I answered, finally climbing out of the tangle of covers Wolf-boy had wrapped himself in the night before and heading towards the bathroom. "I'll meet you guys in DADA later."

This isn't Defense Against the Dark Arts, I thought in a somewhat bored daze during the first class of the day. This is a torture session. The professor- who was so old he almost certainly could not remember the time he spent fighting Grindelwald in '43, as he had to have been a hundred years old by that time, reminded me uncannily of the Hogwarts ghost, Professor Binns. I wouldn't have been surprised if old Guntherson dropped dead any second, either.

We were reviewing the Unforgivable Curses- again. It didn't matter at all to him that I could throw off the Imperius Curse (I'm sure he hated me), because, as he so rightly put it, "Mwa fhnear ghul wedshni wirdchi infnirm phrangu mingi."

Okay, so that's what it sounded like. I'm pretty sure what he actually said was, "Don't get cocky, kid, there's a good many Dark Wizards can do this curse plenty better than I." Any idiot could teach that class better than he could- Voldemort himself could teach better! But that was just my opinion. I turned to my left, about to say something to the girl who'd been my DADA partner since fifth year at Hogwarts, but She wasn't there. She was God-knew-where, on Her own quest for knowledge without me. It could no longer be denied: I missed Her like I missed half of my soul.

"Mister Lupin!" Guntherson said sharply.

Oops. I'd been daydreaming again. Damn it, I hate it when I get distracted. "Yes, Professor?" I tried to reassure James and Sirius with a glance- I never daydreamed in Defense Against the Dark Arts, it was my favorite class- but they still looked worried.

"I've asked you three times to get down here and demonstrate your resistance of the Imperius Curse. What are you doing up there?"

I knew it was a rhetorical question; I didn't answer. It was probably better that way, anyway. As he pointed his wand at my sorry carcass and said, "Imperio," I felt a little tingling inside me, a voice that spoke to me.

Dance, it said in its antagonizing, commanding voice. Dance.

Why should he? another voice answered. (Had She almost said 'Why should he dance without me? It sounded as if She was about to say more.) Then the pain attacked me again- I realized it was Her voice. You've done nothing for Him. Go away.

Dance, the first voice commanded again.

Go away! commanded the second voice.

The first voice went away. I looked at the professor. "Are you quite finished?" I asked, successfully hiding my trembling and looking nonchalant.

"Sit down, Lupin," Guntherson told me. He looked at his watch. "Congratulations, Lupin, that's a new record for you."

A couple of the girls in the class smiled flirtatiously over at me, tapping their pencils or applauding softly. I pointedly ignored them- most were a bunch of blithering idiots incapable of harming a Cornish Pixie. More than one of them had made rather forward suggestions, too. Didn't they understand? I wasn't interested. I missed Her. I wanted only Her.

Classes let out for the day early- it was the last true day of sunshine, it was Halloween, it marked the end of my second month without Her.

"You've been thinking about Her again," Sirius said as the five of us- James, Sirius, Lily (James' fiancée), Mioré Lancaster and I- lay on our backs on a hill, staring up into the clouds, enjoying a day of idleness.

I pretended I hadn't heard him properly. "What was that, Sirius?"

"Allya," Sirius answered. "You've been thinking about her again. Haven't you?" It wasn't exactly a rhetorical question, but it was one I didn't feel quite prepared to answer at the time.

"Maybe." I closed my eyes for a moment, just remembering the sweet passion in her kisses and the feeling of her hand in mine. "Yeah. Is it that obvious?"

"Only to everyone," Sirius answered, and we all went back to sky gazing.

Then there came a shadow above us all- a far-away black dot, swooping closer every moment… I sat bolt upright. I knew that owl- that was Thrakk- an incredibly old owl that had once belonged to one of Her- Allya's- aunts. By all means he should have been dead by that time- he was positively ancient- but he must have had some magic in him, because as far as I knew he was already thirty years old and still going strong. He had two rolls of purple parchment with him- one tied to each leg. Rather shakily (I was weak with some overeager sensation) I untied them, keeping the one tied with red (red was always addressed to me) and unrolling the one tied with blue, reading it aloud for everyone.

"'Dear Remus, James, Mioré, Lily, and Sirius,

Hope this letter finds you well. The submarine has transformed back into a boat for a week- by the time you get this you'll have about four days to send a reply back, and then we'll be underwater again. Happy Halloween- I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing yet, but that's because I'm not sure they celebrate Halloween in Norway. Or on boats/submarines. Heck, I'm not even sure if they know what day it is.'" I snorted. "Organized, aren't they?

"'How are your courses? Mine are going pretty much as I expected- majoring in Divination and Defense has given me quite the course-load, but I can handle it. At least the Divination professor doesn't pretend to know everything (unlike a certain Hogwarts professor we all know and loathe). We're still doing a lot of reviewing in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but that's to be expected, after all. Not everyone here is at the same level just yet. Soon, though.

'Sirius, I hope you're behaving. Badly, that is.'" I looked up, a slightly alarmed look on my face at Sirius' grin. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this? Anyway… 'Wouldn't want the professors to get complacent. You'll have to keep them on their toes until I get back. I'm very excited. I've heard all about Guntherson and he sounds like a royal blunderer. Can't wait to try out some of the interesting spells I've learned from the Norwegians. Mioré, don't go too hard on Sirius when you find the tiny noisemaker he put in your pillow that's been keeping you awake at night. I gave it to him, and I'll certainly speak to him about it.'"

Mioré looked at Sirius. "That was you?" she asked dangerously. Sirius seemed to shrink.

"'I miss you all, don't forget to write back soon (or else!). Love to all from Allya Jade Nightrunner.'"

"Nice to know she hasn't forgotten us," Sirius commented, "although I don't see why you got your own letter, Moony." He winked, and I knew he was kidding. He turned somber a moment. "You didn't even go to see her off…" My 'emotionless' expression apparently wasn't fooling him. "Or did you?"

Shit. I hated it when he figured things out like that. I still do. It's disquieting. "I was there," I admitted quietly. "It's not like I could stay away. Ever." I didn't notice the somewhat awkward silence between the rest of my friends. I kept my eyes closed, just remembering for a moment everything that had happened. If only we hadn't had that stupid argument…I got up and left the hill, heading back to the dormitory. It was time to read my letter, time to write back… it was time, I suddenly realized, for a lot of things.

A Most Peculiar Twist of Fate: The Story of She and the Werewolf One

Allya

Thrakk returned a few days later- the poor owl must have been exhausted. He only stayed with me long enough for me to untie the letters from around his leg, and then he flew off through the magically-sealed owl's door and into the Owlery. I looked down at the pieces of parchment- one a plain piece and one a dark blue- and immediately headed for my room as the warning tone sounded- the boat was sinking again. Thrakk had only just made it back in time. He seemed to be cutting things rather close.

Sensibly, I chose to read the plain letter first. It would not have done to have read His letter first and cried enough not to be able to read the second. Come on, Ally, I told myself, you've done so well so far. It's only another month and a half…But it didn't work- without Remus, time passed so slowly that I sometimes feared I'd go out of my mind. December seemed a lifetime away.

'Dear Ally,

'What's up with the pitifully short notes? We need a full account of your new life, girl! We're all fine here, except Sirius, who is moping because Mioré gave him a black eye, and Remus, who finally admitted that he was thinking about you constantly that day your scrawny letter appeared. How come he gets his own, anyway? Nothing too, er, personal in there for the rest of us, is there?

'Just kidding. (I know it's none of my business, and I won't let it be theirs either.)

'So, have you met any cute guys at this school you're going to yet? Kidding again. We know you're in an all-girl school and we're making fun of you. In case you hadn't noticed. Mioré seems to have her eye on one exceptionally adorable stud in her History of Magic class… Heaven knows why she took that one- maybe it's because of him!'

Sounds just like her, all right, I thought for a moment.

'Jamie and Lil-bug have set their wedding date for a couple weeks after we graduate. I think they're excited. Talk about planning ahead! I can't even see the end of this year yet, let alone next year… Anyway, I have to stop writing now as my eye hurts… thank you, Mioré…

'Love from us all,

two Marauders plus two

P.S. from Sirius: It is an all-girl school, right? Remus is worried.

P.S. from James: Things are pretty rough- we caught Remus daydreaming in DADA…

P.S. from Lil-bug: Don't call me Sparky!

P.S. from Mioré: Just wait till you get back! You must make absolutely sure that Remus sees you in your school 'robes'…'

I laughed a little as I set the letter in a box with the other ones I was keeping under my bed. The school 'robes' were nonexistent- it was impractical to wear loose robes on a ship where they would be caught on every sharp corner. 'Bodysuit' fit the description better… no modesty, just a ship full of girls in formfitting catsuits, a sheath from neck to ankle, and freedom of movement. I supposed it was only appropriate; combat training was also required.

I reclined on my bed, imagining the possibilities. As a werewolf, they'd given me a room to myself- a very secure little room, complete with many, many locks, even though I had a stocked supply of Wolfsbane to keep me sane, I guess they just didn't trust me that much. Served them right for not doing a background check before I got there.

Someone knocked on my door- I thought about letting them stand there until I was done the second letter, but decided against it. How would I feel, after all?

"Door's open," I called, and it was immediately translated into something I didn't understand by the Transometer I'd bought especially for that purpose- ridiculously expensive, it was, but invaluable. Even though that's kind of redundant.

The door opened, and Heidi stepped in, grinning at me. I suppose you could say she was a typical Norwegian in looks- silver-blonde with the lightest blue eyes I'd ever seen, she appeared absolutely mad whenever I thought about it, which wasn't too often. She was a great friend- rather cheerful, and she kept her mouth shut when you asked her to. "How you doing, Wolfie?" she asked in her native tongue. The translation, instantaneous, made me grin. She didn't know I was a werewolf- I hadn't known her long enough for that- but she did know I was an Animagus, so when she saw a wolf roaming around the sub, she didn't worry. They all had access to that knowledge, of course- once I turned eighteen they'd published my name in the books. I'd been registered since I was fifteen, though not publicly.

"Could be better, and yourself?"

"I'm fine," she answered, leaning forward to look me in the eye. "You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"

Damn it. I hate it when people do that. "Yeah. Is it that obvious?"

She laughed. "Only to me. We're having a party now, by the way."

I raised an eyebrow- a great trick I'd learned somewhere along my way to college, to be sure. "And you only came to tell me now?"

"It's a surprise for Genevieve," she answered. "Birthday party. Only a select group knew. Come on, I won't have you moping about for- what was his name again? Rufus? Not while there's a party to be had."

"I'm not moping," I lied, trying to kick the box of letters back under my bed before her roaming blue gaze found it.

"Oh you're not?" she asked, eyes sparkling as she found my little 'treasure box'.

Shit, I thought. I hated it when people did that. I still do. Knowing I was beaten, I raised my hands in defeat. "Okay," I conceded. "You're right… you win… where's the party and what do I bring?"

Heidi grinned. "Meet me in my room in twenty minutes. You need only your sweet self and whatever you feel like wearing- maybe those nice blue robes with the silver and gold trim?" I knew they were her favorites- colors of the House of Nightrunner- we're an old-style wizard family, what's left of us are, anyway, and some sort of nobles if I interpret the Runes correctly- and all that. Blah, I thought, how unoriginal. Everyone knows who everyone else thinks I am… maybe I don't want them to. In truth, I didn't belong with the Nightrunners. I was adopted when I was very young.

When she was gone, I pulled my treasure box out again- a few of the parchments it contained were extremely old, but I couldn't bear to throw them away, no matter how angry I got. Call me sentimental.

Dearest Jade…

I smiled at the nickname- it had been far too long since he called me that. Still, the tears were threatening to choke me.

It's been a heck of a long time and at least six different pieces of parchment have made their way to the recycling bin in the past hour. I can't seem to figure out what I want to say. Don't bother thinking that I'm the eloquent one. That's all a load of hippogriff fodder and you know it.

The truth is, I can't stop thinking about you. I miss you so much, I think sometimes I might collapse. Sirius and James expect me to break down any day now- it's not exactly something that gives a guy self-confidence, I can tell you.

I've been using Wolfsbane these past couple of months. It works wonders, but the headaches I wake up with! Have you found a way around them? How do you go to class with migraines like that?

Certain parties in the Defense class here are driving me insane… pencil-tappers. They look at me like I'm a piece of meat they can't wait to sink their teeth into. It's disgusting and degrading.

So Remus has other members of the female sex after him, does he? I thought, slightly amused but not really threatened- he'd never betray me. It's about time they noticed him, too. I swiped angrily at the tears dotting my cheeks and put the letter away (after rereading it twice). In my opinion, Christmas break couldn't come quickly enough.

A Most Peculiar Twist of Fate: Walking Backwards

Remus

Wherever I wanted to be, it wasn't there. Insane college girls, I thought to myself disgustedly. Can't they just leave me alone? I wondered for a (brief) second whether I would actually want that. The answer dawned on me quickly: As long as I have Her, yes.

The smoke in the room was very nearly choking me- I would have gone outside but for the early December rain. Only a few more days now, I told myself. Only a week more…

She was coming. The fifteenth, the day was marked permanently in my head but the numbers on the calendar would never meet the words in my heart. I snorted at the poetic thought. I'm turning into a sniveling ninny…

I truly and strongly dislike the sniveling ninny part of me. It reminds me of Peter in first year, and the way he always used to complain. I don't like being reminded of dead people. It's disquieting. Anyway, the others didn't know what day she was coming- I alone held that information, thank you very much.

Perhaps that's why we were so good for each other- we brought out the best in each other. Not to mention the worst. I fondly remembered the time we had that huge row on the Quidditch pitch- she ended up jumping me, we slid in the mud, and we laughed so hard our anger was gone… That was the night she told me she loved me, the night I knew it for sure.

I wondered if it was still true, and stepped outside in the pouring rain to think.

The days seemed to be coming slower than ever- I swear I lived through the fourteenth at least twice. I vividly recall waking up on the couch that morning- far too exited to sleep the night before, I'd wanted to read in peace for a few hours and had retreated to somewhere where I wouldn't wake James or Sirius- they needed their sleep. James and Lil-bug had had so many petty arguments over wedding arrangements that a good night's sleep was necessary above all else. Sirius was losing sleep over that guy in Mioré's History of Magic class, but I think James slipped a little Sleeping Draught- diluted, of course- into a glass of brandy…

Of course, Sirius drank it. I wondered if that was how I ended up falling asleep. It almost didn't matter. What was I thinking? Of course it didn't matter, nothing mattered except Allya. And She… she was not a thing, by any means, except perhaps in some pervert's erotic fantasy. And hopefully in none but mine, unlikely as I knew it to be.

Someone knocked on the door- I groaned. Should I open it? I wondered. Maybe it wasn't worth it… But then, I'd never been so rude as to refuse admittance to an apartment I shared. At least, not without good reason.

I opened the door, not surprised to see Lily and Mioré. "James hasn't given you a key yet?" I was unable to restrain myself from asking.

Lily mock-scowled at me severely, and I'd heard her answer enough times from when Sirius asked the question, which was between often and always. "How many times to I have to tell you? Not until we're married." I grinned at her, and she laughed. "You know me far too well, Moony. But where are your manners? Aren't you going to let us in?"

"I will," I said, clearing the way for the two young women. "Unless you're willing to battle your way past me?"

Mioré took a mock-fighting stance for a moment before following Lily into the living room.

"Is James here?" Lily asked predictably, almost succeeding in temporarily removing Allya from my mind.

"He and Sirius are still sleeping. I'll wake them, if you want." Even though Sirius might be a bit pissed off at me, I added mentally.

They wanted, and I grumbled, "Sirius is not going to be happy about this…"

Mioré shrugged. "Tell him I've broken things off with David the body-builder. He's never cared much for him."

That's because he's in love with you, you blind prat. "You did?" I blinked, digesting information. "Why?"

She smiled, "It got a bit out of hand when he started talking to his muscles… I mean, I was okay with the leather pants, and talking to his reflection in a Muggle mirror was kind of endearing, but for God's sake, he named his biceps."

I laughed all the way into James' room. Neither of my roommates seemed surprised at being awoken, although Sirius displayed no great joy until I told him about David-the-body-builder's failed attempt at romance, at which point he just smirked knowingly. He can look a lot like Severus Snape when he smirks and it scares me.

"What was his surname again?" he asked Mioré near the end of his happy tirade.

"I have no idea," Mioré admitted, which set us all off again. Still, the day took forever to pass.

My first thought the next morning was something to the extent of, 'finally.' I took only a total of fifteen minutes getting ready that morning, which I'm still quite proud of. What I'm not proud of is how many times I actually cut myself shaving that morning, which was several, but I didn't notice until much afterwards. The rest of the morning was an unimportant and insignificant blur, if you can call paying the rent, taking a dose of Wolfsbane, and cleaning up the apartment by magic insignificant (which, as a reckless adolescent, I did).

As soon as possible, I Apparated to the correct platform- two and three-quarters- at the London station. I supposed it would have been more convenient if Allya had simply Apparated back to the college, and simpler, too. Then again, I supposed in some twisted, sadomasochistic and mostly unused section of my brain that it was more romantic this way. Plus, Allya had a lot of luggage, and I knew from experience that it was far too much for one person to Apparate with.

And there I found myself, waiting, restless, anticipating the arrival of the only woman I could ever love.

A Most Peculiar Twist of Fate: Walking Backwards

Allya

I swear, it was the longest month and a half I've ever lived through. Each day passed like a week. Even worse, now that I was to be leaving, I couldn't concentrate on my lessons. I only got eighty percent on my Divination exam- in Divination, for Athena's sake! Divination is the easiest subject ever! I suppose my mind was elsewhere, my 'Inner Eye' (at my rather sarcastic stage that semester, I would have appended 'yeah, right,' after those two words) was busy predicting other things, and all my concentration was focused on one person.

Yes, Remus. Of course, Remus! Is there anyone else?

The answer was 'no', although sometimes it drove me right over the edge. Leave it to Fate to stick me with someone difficult! (Oh, I know what you're thinking. I can see the wheels turning. "Remus? Difficult? Not with Allya!" Well, let me tell you, there are some moments that don't get written where he's absolutely impossible!) Of course, I supposed it balanced out because ninety percent of the time he was so much less difficult than I.

The party thoroughly disgusted me. We'd rendezvoused with the other NNCFWWW -the all-male one- and, suffice it to say, some people were getting a little desperate for a companion of the opposite sex. Leave it to Heidi, I suppose- between the two of us we beat off about thirteen perverts and returned to our rooms early. I spent the rest of the night dishing on Remus- just the little things about him that made him perfect, like the way he looked at me when he thought I didn't notice, the way he'd take a beating for me when I let him stand up for me (which was never).

Naturally, when Heidi left, I was feeling a bit lonely. I really hated it when I did that to myself. I laid there for at least three hours, memorizing the dot patterns in the ceiling, for Athena's sake. I stopped when I had myself convinced that Remus' name was written up there. It couldn't have been a good sign.

December- it was as cold as it normally was onboard StarGazer, which was an unusual name for a seafaring vessel, and sweaters were issued to go with our bodysuits. They were mostly for outside wear- we surfaced again for about twelve hours (not enough time to send Thrakk away) and the icebergs were quite lovely. Let me tell you this, though- I've never been that cold in my entire life.

I don't suppose I would have minded if Remus had been there. Somehow he always manages to keep me warm.

The days continued to run in reverse order- or so it seemed. When there was still a week left to go, I remember thinking, Yes! Only a week left! but at T-minus six days, I was thinking, Six more days! That's forever! What can I say? Youth and love are not a good combination if one is attached to her sanity.

When, finally, the morning of my departure came, we were docked in Scotland. I had a long train ride ahead of me, but didn't really care. Heidi came to see me before I left. "We'll miss you," she told me, giving me a hug. I smiled and replied in turn, and although the smile was a bit empty behind my eyes when she left the station, they quickly filled with anticipation… I was going home.

I smiled to myself, wondering where I thought home really was, but it was an empty thought. Home was wherever Remus was. For a pair of heartbeats I wanted to just leave my luggage and Apparate- okay, so I wanted to do it the entire voyage. That's irrelevant anyway. I figured that, in the end, it was sort of like a Muggle romance movie this way.

I shook my head at the thought- I'm sounding more like Lindsay every day. And Mioré. I grinned self-consciously and looked down at my attire- underneath the blue, gold and silver robes Heidi loved so much was a black and silver bodysuit reminiscent of an Auror's uniform. Someone was in for a bit of a shock.

A Most Peculiar Twist of Fate: Only the Beginning

He saw her step off the train, and his systems totally froze for a few seconds. His heart skipped a few beats, his lungs refused to breathe, his brain refused to think- but when it did it only thought one partially comprehensible thought: Good God, that's Ally?

The tan she'd acquired over the summer was completely gone- she was paler than he'd seen her yet; her skin looked like porcelain. Her blonde curls had grown out again, down to her waist and then some. Full red lips and dark violet eyes completed the girl he knew so well… but something was different in the way she carried herself.

Dismissing it as something of his imagination, he swept her into his arms without another thought and kissed her with the passion that had had so long to build. Strange… she feels different. When they finally began to breathe again, they just stayed there with each other in a moment of silence.

"You look good," Remus finally said. There's an understatement.

"And I'm not the only one, either," she answered, tapping a finger on his chest. The simple movement gave him chills. And she knew it.

"Shall we continue making a spectacle of ourselves?" Remus finally asked, brushing Ally's hair back from her eyes. "Or shall we go somewhere more private?"

Oh, very good, Mr. Lupin. Leave the big decisions about what we get up to tonight up to me. In response she pulled out her wand and handed him one of her trunks. "Let's go."

They appeared again in the apartment Remus shared with the two other Animagi. Allya raised her eyebrows, looking around. "Nice place," she commented, before Remus captured her wandering gaze by cupping her chin in one hand. His other hand plucked her wand from her grasp, and tossed it and his onto the couch without a second thought.

This kiss was deeper and more deliberate as the carefully rehearsed dance began. "You know," Remus commented when they were both in proper disarray, "I do share this flat…"

"This might get a little awkward then, mightn't it?" she asked, eyes glowing. When he nodded, she only grinned. "Good." Never intended to make this easy on you. The violet eyes sparkled again, "Give me the five-pence tour: which way did you say your room was again?"

He laughed, leading her by the hand, and she closed the door behind her. When his back was still turned, she removed the robes and hung them next to his cloak on the back of the door. From behind him, she wrapped her slender, muscular arms around his abdomen, feeling his muscles tighten against her own. Remus turned around to kiss her again and-

There was the reaction she'd been looking for.

"Good God," Remus managed with feeling, trying to conceal his shock and failing miserably. "What are you wearing?"

She grinned devilishly. "School uniform."

"Kinky," Remus breathed. "Where do I sign up?"

"Right here," Ally answered, drawing him towards her. Before she kissed him again, she inquired, "This place is soundproof, right?"

Poor Remus never even got a chance to answer.

"What day did Remus say Allya'd be back again?" Sirius asked James as he unlocked the door.

James thought a moment. "I don't know if he ever really said a specific day. Just sometime around Christmas."

"He was awfully vague, wasn't he?" Sirius mused. "Maybe next week already, then." Padfoot propped his broom up in the closet. With a casual glance at the grandfather 'clock' in the living room, he declared, "He's home. We can ask him."

"We could," James agreed, then glanced at the door to Remus' bedroom. Beside it, the enchanted light glowed a soft red, indicating Remus' desire to be left well enough alone. "But it looks like old Moony's in one of his moods again."

"Best leave him be, then," Sirius advised, pouring himself a glass of water to quench the thirst brought on by an incredible Quidditch match. "You know how he can- argh!"

James looked up from his Transfiguration notes to see Sirius sprawled across the floor, dripping wet from having spilled his drink all over him. "What?"

Sirius removed himself from the floor and dried the water dripping down his front with the wave of his wand. Still, he was grinning like he had the time he and Lily had caught Ally and Remus necking on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch- only wider, if that was possible. "Sweet Mother of God," he breathed, the smile growing every second as he surveyed the ground at his feet.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" James asked him.

"Jamsie-boy," Sirius said fondly, bending over to pick something up, "my belated birthday gift from the Divinations Queen."

James could only stare- Sirius held a small, blue trunk with the letters A. J. N on it. "Tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking." Perfectly on cue, there came a thud from the general direction of the bedrooms. If Sirius' grin got any wider, the top half of his head would have fallen off. "I thought we soundproofed the place?"

"We did," Sirius said gleefully. "That was the sound of the outside of the door hitting the inside of the doorframe."

"How you know that," James said, "I really don't want you to know." They both fixed their eyes on the door for a moment in relative silence, until James continued, "That's got to be some force building in there, then. There's not half a centimeter room between the two."

Sirius noticed that James didn't specify what the 'two' were, the 'force' either, and thought this rather tactful of him. Finally he let out a small hiss. "Yes…" James looked up. "Mioré owes me five Galleons," Sirius explained. "She didn't think they'd do it till they were either married or forty…"

"How she got that impression I'll never know," James said ruefully.

"She's just a little idealistic," Sirius said. "Naïve. Don't worry, I'll convert her yet."

I was never worried. "Heaven forbid," James muttered. "Sirius, has anyone ever told you you're a prude?"

"No, why?"

"If people ever start, be sure to tell me. I want to be able to laugh in their faces."

THE END

LONE ASTRONOMER: O-kay! Now before people start flaming me for the pre-marital sexual relationships… I don't believe in that stuff, OK? And I'm not totally against it. People make their own decisions.

SIRIUS: They most certainly did! Now, are you going to let me MS-TIE this? Please?

REMUS: That would just be cruel…

ALLYA: But funny…

Mioré: Maybe you should MS-TIE something else first…

LILY: I know! Let the readers decide!

LONE ASTRONOMER: Excellent idea, Lils. Okay, people- for those of you who know what an MS-TIE is, or even those who don't, e-mail or review or notify me somehow if you want me to do one, and with which fic. I refuse to do the entire When and If saga, however. That is just way too much work. If you have a specific chapter in mind, fine.

Another thing: Allya's not pregnant, okay? SHE'S NOT! You can look to the later parts of A Hundred Thousand Mirrored Futures if you want that.

If you do have suggestions for names, send them to me somehow. So far I'm using Sierra, Vera, and Archer.

And finally: Sorry to those of you to whom I owe e-mails. I have a huge Spanish test coming up and it took me forever to get this done, I haven't even checked my emails in a few days…