Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter characters or events referring to the previous books. Any references made to anything is most likely not mine.

CHAPTER 1

A Little less than a year and a Half a World Later.

Brenda and Remus had been dating each other since early November. They had remained friends for the first two months and then moved into a relationship shortly after a night of drunken kisses. They spent a lot of time together and enjoyed each other's company. They did not live together so it was not difficult for Remus to lock himself up alone on the nights of the full moon. Remus had thought that Brenda would eventually leave him due to his inability to be with her several days out of the month. Brenda didn't mind his being gone. It was when he was with his friends and she was with hers. At times she wished that she could be with him but she knew that his days with his friends were few and far between. She had never met these friends but she trusted Remus. She knew he would not hurt her.

Around the end of school term something happened that changed their relationship forever. As Brenda returned home from a busy workday with arms full of groceries she was attacked from behind by a man with a mysteriously silver hand. She didn't know how she was able to get the man off of her but she did and left for Remus's place. She didn't even remember that he was probably with his friends as they were taking one of their monthly breaks.

As soon as she got to his house she realized her mistake but didn't really worry, she had a key to his apartment. It was in the part of town that was a bit creepy to her but what could she do it was all he could afford, she didn't think that she was ready to tell him about her fortune in the bank, it would be a bit awkward.

As she came running up the stairs to his apartment she saw a big black dog that looked like it was waiting for someone to open the door to Remus's apartment. The dog looked familiar. Like the one that was in one of the few pictures that Remus had. Perhaps this was Remus's dog. She was suddenly very glad to think that he would be there. She had expected to curl up on his couch alone, to afraid to go anywhere else until Remus had check her apartment. When she reached the landing the dog looked at her, almost as though he was sizing her up. That wasn't right. She knocked on the door loudly then called loudly, "Remus open up please, its me!" she was unable to keep the plea out of her voice. She desperately wanted him to be there to protect her. The dog barked loudly as if sensing her urgency, it was as though he too was pleading to Remus to come to the door.

Remus had heard her and was fairly concerned. He didn't want her to see him this way. The last night of the full moon was the night before and it had taken a lot out of him. He didn't really have the strength to get out of his bed. But the sound of her voice worried him. She would not have come here with out calling first as he had told her that he would be gone. The sound of a familiar dog's bark joined his girlfriend's voice and he raced to the door to let his two guests in.

As the door opened a crack the dog pushed its way through quickly. Remus smiled at the big black dog then turned his attention to his now hysterical girlfriend. He pulled her into his arms and began trying to soothe her. "Shhh. What happened?" he asked when she had stopped crying.

"I was.him. there.attacked.got away.here." was all that he could get from her. So he tried again. "Calm down I am here now, just tell me what happened."

Brenda took a deep breath collected herself and said, "I was just getting home when some man came up from behind me. I was so scared. He had this hand it was like metal and he wouldn't let go of me. I somehow got him off of me and then I came here. I was so scared. I never thought that would happen to me. I feel like and idiot now but do you mind can I stay with you tonight?" He looked down at her and then at the dog who appeared to be holding his breath almost pleading with Remus to send her away. She began to shake a little, though he doubted that she was aware of what she was doing. He quickly made up his mind.

"Of course you can. Come on lets get you some pajamas and then maybe a hot bath?" He always knew what she needed, she thought as they made their way to the bathroom to prepare a bath. Remus left her to herself and returned to the living room where the dog, looking a little miffed was sitting on the couch. Remus gestured toward the kitchen. Remus set straight away to preparing tea and something to eat. After setting the pot to boil he turned to find not a dog but a man staring back at him. The two embraced as brothers. The new man had shaggy black hair and ice blue eyes. He was a bit thin. The look on his face told Remus that he was not happy that Brenda was still in the house. Remus smiled, "Hello there Sirius. How are you? How is Harry?" Sirius looked at him. Did Remus really not already know? I guess not. Sirius handed Remus a letter from Dumbledore, Remus's previous employer. Remus unfolded the letter and began to read.

Remus ~ How are you? I hope that you are well. I have sent Sirius to inform you and the entire old crowd for that matter, that Voldemort has risen again. Unfortunately he did so with by kidnapping Harry. I am hoping to rejoin the remaining members of the Order together as soon as possible. I will contact you when the meeting is set. In the mean time I am hoping that Sirius can stay with you. It would be most convenient. I am sure that you can easily explain him to your new friend, Brenda I believe her name is. I am gladdened to hear of your happiness. I would like to urge you to tell her the whole truth about you, especially if you agree to come back. I am sure that she will understand. I am very sorry to disturb you with such horrid news. But it is something that we must acknowledge quickly. I will send word quickly. Look after Sirius and yourself. Sincerely,

Albus



Remus looked up from the letter. It was not possible, Voldemort, again. Poor Harry.. poor Sirius. Sirius looked at Remus pleadingly, as if to ask permission to stay. "Well if you are going to be living with me I might as well introduce you to Brenda. Clean yourself up a bit though please. There is a small bathroom in the hallway, second door on the right. I'll go get you some muggle clothes." Sirius smiled and headed off to the bathroom. Remus had just handed the clothes to Sirius when Brenda came into the hallway with a questioning look. "I forgot to tell you that my friend will be here for a little while. He just got in and thought he would freshen up before dinner." Remus said this with a smile. Hopefully she had forgotten about the attack and would be much calmer now. Brenda smiled back and Sirius made a noise from the bathroom.

Brenda and Remus went to the kitchen, which now smelled of boiling noodles and fresh tea. Brenda leaned over and hugged Remus tightly, and he leaned in for a kiss. They had stood that way for a minute or so when Sirius cleared his throat loudly. The both broke apart blushing deeply. Remus quickly introduced the two. "Sirius Black this is my girlfriend, Brenda Daly. Brenda this is Sirius. Who would like some dinner?"

Sirius eagerly accepted and both Brenda and Remus decided that he needed to eat, a lot. So after Brenda was sure that Sirius had eaten his fair share, which was all of the spaghetti except the two small portions that Brenda and Remus took, they all adjourned into the living room. Remus and Brenda informed Sirius of their relationship and several other stories over some late night drinks. Brenda had insisted that Sirius looked way to thin and as long as she was around she would make sure that the two men would eat much more. Soon Brenda was so tired that Remus had to carry her to his bed and tuck her in. He then returned to his friend to find out about what was going on in the wizarding world.

When he entered the living room Sirius was sitting on the couch looking at one of the only muggle pictures that Remus had of the Marauders. Remus had taken the picture of Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs one night in the Forbidden Forest. It was with one of Lily's muggle cameras. Remus didn't want Sirius to look to long at the picture as Wormtail was in the middle. "So what have you been doing these past months?" Remus asked hoping it was a safe question. Truth was that he had not spoken to his friend since the event in the Shack a year ago. Remus had left straight for America, and as Sirius was an escaped convict there was no real way for the two to communicate.

Sirius looked up at his friend and knew that the werewolf had no idea what had truly happened. So he began to explain about the TriWizard Tournament and what had happened to Harry. Remus sat in his chair with his mouth hanging open. What had happened to his friends? It was horrible. He could only imagine what it was like for Sirius. He knew that it was a mistake for him to leave. It seemed as though Sirius had been through the worst. It was time for Remus to move back to Britain. His thoughts moved to Brenda and what he was going to tell her. He decided that he would have to take this one thing at a time. "My God Sirius, I can't believe that happened. I never should have gone so far away. I could have helped." He said this all so fast.

Sirius just looked at him and shook his head; "No you could not have done anything. What happened was unstoppable. I do wish that you hadn't gone so far away. But look at what you found there. I have never seen you so happy. And she seems to be really in love with you." Sirius paused forming his next question carefully in his mind, "Have you told her about us, about our world? About your eh, specialness?"

"No, I don't want to scare her off. I love her. I don't want her to run off. Dumbledore says that I should tell her. What do you think?"

"I think that if she really loved you she would understand. If you explain it right I am sure that she won't hold it against you. She didn't seem like the type to scream and run. I mean that guy at her house was one thing, but I doubt she would run from you. I just get this feeling from her that she really cares about you no matter what or who you are." Sirius replied. He was hoping against all hope that the muggle his friend had fallen for would truly understand what Remus was. It was late and so Remus showed Sirius into the "guest bedroom," it used to be a closet but Remus had used magic to create a spare room for such a night. Remus would sleep on the couch.

It was a cold night and Brenda woke to a light tapping sound at the window. There was a beautiful bird at the window attempting to get inside. There was piece of paper attached to its leg. Brenda thought it was some bird that Remus and another friend had trained to bring letters back and forth. Rather clever she thought. She opened the widow and the bird deposited two letters in her hand and flew out again. The outside of the first letter was addressed to Remus. The second did not have a name. Not knowing what to do she went in search of Remus. She found him on the couch curled up under a thin blanket. She watched him for a little bit unsure if she should wake him. Something told her that the letters were important and that she should. Reluctantly she shook him. No response. So she tried a different approach, as the two had never slept together she was not sure that the tactic she was about to use would work, she bent down and kissed him fully on the lips. He groaned in his sleep and deepened the kiss.

Remus had never been woken up by this approach; it was quite nice he decided. As he deepened the kiss he pulled Brenda on top of him. She knew that he was awake now. So she reluctantly pulled back after a few short minutes. "Hey, now that is not nice. What did I do to you?" Remus asked in a whiny voice.

"Well I had to wake you up some how. And since the bird tapping at the window didn't do it this was my only other option."

At the mention of the bird at the window he opened his eyes fully. A feeling of doom hung over Remus's head. "A bird, what did it want?" He asked innocently. She held up the letters and handed them to Remus. "To drop off your mistress's love notes." She answered in mock anger. "It was cool to see the bird deliver them. How did you train it to do that?" Brenda asked with interest. "Oh, uh, lots of practice. Can you go turn on the light please?" Brenda got off of Remus and turned on the lights. She then went into the kitchen to make some hot cocoa sensing that Remus wanted to be alone with his letters. Remus quickly opened the one addressed to him. It said:





Remus ~

Sorry to call you back so soon but the meeting will be held in two days time at Hogwarts. I know that I am not giving you a lot of time to return, but the sooner you are here the sooner we can begin. The second letter is for Sirius. Please use the floo network to get here. It will be much quicker. I have also been informed that Ms. Daly's attacker was not by chance. She was not supposed to survive that attack. Please I urge you to tell her what is going on. I feel that she will be able to help us in some way. Please call me as soon as you and Sirius are ready to floo. Again I urge you to tell Brenda the news as soon as you give Sirius his letter. Dumbledore

Remus rose and began to pace the room. He then headed over to Sirius's room and woke him via magic. He handed the other letter to its owner then as he was leaving the room said, "I'm going to tell her right now. Get ready to go." With that he closed the door.

Brenda was sitting in the kitchen sipping on her hot chocolate with another steaming cup sitting next to her. It was obvious that she was waiting for him. She knew that he needed that cup. It was like they had a sixth sense when it came to each other, maybe she would not react as badly as Remus had originally thought she would.

"I have something to tell you." They both said at the same time. Remus was puzzled but gave her an encouraging look. She smiled then said, " I never told you about the money that I have. I know that it really doesn't matter but I just feel the need to be honest. I feel so bad for not offering to get you a better place but I wanted to make sure that you knew me and not my money first. I am really sorry I should have trusted you." She ended her statement with a weak smile. Remus was just in shock that she found this fact important to share but said nothing. He didn't care if she had three vaults worth of galleons. Maybe she just had been keeping this from him and wanted to let him know that she wanted to have an open relationship. Well then I bet she knows that I am hiding something from her. Well here I go, "BrendaIamawerewolfandawizard." He said this so fast that she barely heard. "Stop, rewind, slower." She said with a small smile playing on her lips. "Brenda I am a werewolf and a wizard." He said looking at her. He could not explain the look she had on her face. It was between shock and amusement, had she not believed him. "I am serious and I am afraid that Sirius and I need to leave tonight. You are invited to come with us if you want to still be with me, if not I will understand. I will give you a memory charm and you will not remember me. You have to decide now though. We have to go."

Brenda stared at Remus. She was at a loss of words. He was asking her to run away with him. This was important. She knew that she should not leave him. It had cost him a lot to tell her the things that he did. He was a wizard and a werewolf. Remus turned to leave; it was obvious that Brenda did not want to be with him now that she knew the truth. He sighed heavily and turned to leave the kitchen. He had to go get his wand. He didn't want Brenda to be afraid of him if they met in the future.

Brenda was still pondering what to do when she saw the disappointment in his eyes as he turned to go. She grabbed his arm quickly and spun him around to look into his eyes. It was a strange experience, she could almost swear that she had a vision of what life would be like if she said yes and what it would be like if she said no. This was interesting to her, she had always heard that when you find true love you can look in your partner's eyes and see your future together. She smiled to herself, was this true love?

Remus was staring into her eyes, the blue was so enchanting and he could be lost in her gaze for days. He then saw a flicker of hope cross her eyes and she began to smile. She reached up and kissed him, not a deep passionate kiss but a chaste kiss. After she simply smiled and said, "Yes, I will go."



He looked at her in surprise; he thought that she would run out of the room and never talk to him again. He smiled at her; "Good lets go. We'll have someone go by your place and pick up your things don't worry you wont be without anything long."

They finished their cocoa and met Sirius in the living room. He was talking to Dumbledore in the fireplace. When Brenda first saw this she stopped in her tracks. Even if Remus told her about his abilities she had not fully believed him, she now found out that he was telling the truth. This was going to be weird. Apparently Dumbledore had foreseen that Remus would not be ready quickly so he had asked Sirius to pack up all of Lupin's belongings. "Are you ready?" said the head from the fireplace. "I am sure that we can get you appropriate clothes to wear while you are hear Ms. Daly. For now it is important that you leave quickly. I have been informed that Death Eaters are headed your way. Come quickly. Remus you first." With that the Headmaster's head disappeared. The fire turned green and Remus stepped in it, taking the trunk that Sirius had readied. He called out "Hogwarts Castle," and was gone.

Brenda looked at Sirius unsure what to do. He quickly explained that she should step into the flames yell "Hogwarts Castle," then make sure that she kept her hands and feet together really stiff. She would be taken to the castle where she would see Lupin. If she ended up alone she should stay exactly where she was and he would find her. She smiled a weak smile at the man and stepped into the fire. She held herself tensely together and yelled, "Hogwarts Castle," just as Remus had, and she disappeared.

A/N: Please tell me what you think. I know that the secrets were a bit stupid but I had nothing to go with.