A/N: My computer messed up and to make a long story short, this story got deleted. I figure I'll repost achapter every two to three days until I'm all caught up to Chapter 16, at which point I'll have already finished writing Chapters 17-and-beyond. Sorry if you've already read this stuff, but I figure you can cope.
Summary: Lupin notices the date and sits down to reminisce (that's about half a page). Then it's the tale of his 7th year and beyond, complete with new characters, old characters, and one hell of a lot more.
Disclaimer: whatever.
Back in their dormitories that night, however, Sirius admitted to his friends what he was really on his mind.
"She was talking to Bella – you know, my cousin," he said. "Bella was telling her about that Voldemort madman who's going around trying to gain power. Well, you know how my family stands on that purity of blood issue… Bella was asking 'Lysa if she was interested in coming to some meeting, seeing as she was pure of blood, and all of that. They didn't know I heard them; they were in the library, and I was in the next row of books. Well, I was about to come out and tell Bella to shut the hell up and go away, but then Elysa said, 'Sorry, not interested.' She sounded sort of annoyed. Bella said, 'But Elysa, the Fauchelevents are like, the oldest European wizarding family. The Dark Lord is all about protecting the lineage of people like you.'
"Then Elysa, sounding even more peeved, said, 'This "Dark Lord" can be about whatever the hell he wants, but he's not getting involved with my family. Good grief, Bella… I'm just not interested!'
"Then Bella said, sort of in a hiss, 'You're either with the Dark Lord or against him, Elysa Fauchelevent.'
"'Lysa was quiet for a moment, but then she said, 'Bella, have you ever been to France?'
"Bella shook her head (I saw her from a gap between the books) and said, 'No; Blacks generally don't leave this cold island.'
"'Lysa said, 'So I've heard.' Then she said, 'Bella, I have a very large family, just like you. They are very influential, just like yours. But there's a difference: my family is spread throughout Europe: I have cousins in Spain, Italy, Romania, Poland... France, of course… well, you get the idea. I just spent the entire summer spending time with my family, and I can tell you this: the Fauchelevents handle their own affairs. This Voldemort fellow is just here, on this cold island. My family is all over the world. So tell Voldemort to keep the fuck out of our business.'"
Sirius stopped talking and sighed. He looked at James. "I think I'm going to marry her."
James raised his eyebrows. "I thought the plan was to just go out with her for a week or two."
Sirius shrugged. "Change of plans. I mean, did you hear how she told off Bella? Oh, and then she sort of walked coolly away, and Bella let out an irritated sort of noise, and went in the other direction. Then 'Lysa saw me, and she just sort of gave me a look of pity. She came up to me and whispered, 'Sirius, I'm very sorry about your family.' I smiled and said it was okay, etc. Then she said, 'Yeah, right. But all joking aside, Sirius…' Then she didn't say anything. She looked like she was thinking. I sort of raised my eyebrows and said, 'I'm having trouble refraining from saying anything witty… could you hurry it up, please?' or something else just as clever; I don't really remember… but then she laughed and shook her head and said, 'I'll see you around, Sirius.' Then she went away and left me very confused.
"And that's why I asked her out earlier," Sirius concluded.
"Right…" said James, putting on an incredibly confused expression.
Over in her dormitory, Elysa Fauchelevent was explaining herself to her friends.
"So, Lysie, I see you are going to Hogsmeade with Sirius Black after all," Marvina remarked.
Elysa smiled. "You see correctly."
Marvina giggled. "So, Lysie, tell us: why the sudden change of heart? You seemed so indifferent toward him earlier."
Elysa sighed. Then she smiled and told the story of Bellatrix Black and her attempt at recruiting Elysa for the Dark Side.
"Ah. So, you suddenly like Sirius Black why?" Marvina asked when she was finished.
Elysa exhaled slowly. "I don't know… I guess I just understood what his life at home is like… I felt really bad for him. Then I ran into him in the next row and I told him so. And… I don't know." Elysa sighed. She looked out of the dark window. "I guess I just want to get to know him better… though maybe it's a bit more than that…" She trailed off, leaving Marvina shaking her head in pity. Ah, the innocence of the love-struck.
Remus was extremely aggravated. Though he sensed that Sirius was really just going through another one of his phases of being attracted to a girl, he was annoyed that the girl in question had to be Elysa Fauchelevent. To make matters worse, Sirius's tale of how Elysa told off Bellatrix Black had been to Remus as big a turn-on as it had been to Sirius.
Remus knew something of the Fauchelevents. They were a huge, ancient wizarding family, based in France but with influential branches throughout Europe, as well as in America, Africa, and probably some other continents, too. Elysa's branch, the Fauchelevents of the United Kingdom, included only her immediate family, in addition to some obscure uncles and second cousins. Every summer, or so Remus gathered, the entire Fauchelevent clan gathered in Paris and then went down to some house along the Côte d'Azur – a villa on the cliffs over the ocean, Remus presumed – for a reunion.
As a child with few relatives outside of his immediate family, Remus found the concept of a mass of relations very appealing. In addition, he had heard stories of the Fauchelevent family dating from the Middle Ages and beyond, which involved fierce family loyalty and pride. Remus realized that the thing that had made what Elysa said to Bellatrix so incredibly… well, hot, was that Elysa did not go around parading the fact that she belonged to a huge, influential, internationally-based family. Rather, she invoked this fact only when absolutely necessary, such as using it to give Bellatrix a taste of what she was up against if she tried to threaten Elysa.
Remus could not help his feelings any longer: Elysa was just too damn incredible. Remus did not know how he hadn't realized this before now.
And now Sirius had realized it, too. Remus exhaled into his pillow in frustration and hoped that Sirius's recent infatuation with Elysa Fauchelevent was just a passing phase.
It was not a passing phase. On Saturday Sirius met Elysa in the foyer to make their way down to Hogsmeade with the rest of the students. He noticed her right away as she came down the stairs. This not being a school day, Elysa was dressed in normal clothes, and damn, did she ever look good. She wore a denim skirt, a white T-shirt with something in French ("Criel sur mer") printed on it in large cursive blue-green letters, and sandals. Her hair was pulled back off of her neck in a curly ponytail, and dangling earrings hung at her ears.
"Hello," she said cheerfully.
"Hello," Sirius replied. He offered Elysa his arm, and she took it, giggling. The two of them made their way down the long lawn toward Hogsmeade.
The first thing Sirius noticed that was different about this date when compared to the hundreds of other ones he had gone on was that he didn't feel in control. As soon as they left the castle, Elysa said, "So, Sirius, where are we headed today?"
Sirius shrugged. "Well," he said clearly, putting on an air of explaining something to a very small child, "I think we should walk down to the village first and look around, don't you agree?"
Elysa smiled tolerantly. "Well," she said, mimicking his voice, "I think it's rather too nice a day to go inside, don't you agree? I think we should go sit by the lake."
Sirius was taken aback. He had never started a date by going to the lake. True, he had ended plenty of them over there, making out and so on, but commencing a date at the lake was a bit unusual.
Not missing a beat, Sirius said, "I think that's a lovely idea, dearie."
Elysa snorted. "Dearie? Mon dieu… well, I'm glad you approve, at any rate…"
Sirius smiled. He was quite enjoying this. "So, Lysie," he began.
"Yes, Siri?" she asked.
Sirius frowned. "Does it actually bother you when I call you 'Lysie,' or do you just like making clever witticisms?"
"I just like making clever witticisms," she assured him.
Sirius smiled in spite of himself. "Well, as long as that's settled… but anyway, Lysie, I was wondering… about that time that you talked to Bella? I wanted to… thank you, I guess." Sirius frowned. "Good lord, I sound strange… I'm sorry; I'm usually not this sincere…"
Elysa laughed. "I forgive you. And it was nothing." She frowned, too. "Actually, Sirius, I was wondering about your family. I mean, if it's too personal or whatever, you don't need to tell me, but I guess I was wondering about the… I don't know… the 'long version' of why you left home."
Sirius turned to stare at her. "You actually care?" he asked, unable to conceal his astonishment. People usually didn't ask him questions like this; the girls he took out were usually too wrapped up in flirting with him to ask him about his personal history.
Elysa nodded. "Yes, I do." Then she seemed embarrassed, for she blushed.
Sirius noticed and felt himself blush, too. What was wrong with him? He was usually so suave!
Elysa noticed him blushing and burst out laughing. "Wow! I can't believe I made the great Sirius Black blush!" she remarked.
Sirius barked out a laughed. "Yep, I reckon you're the first one to manage that."
They had reached the lake. Elysa sat down on the sand by the water, and Sirius quietly joined her.
Elysa tilted her head to the side to study him. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then seemed to change her mind. Sirius mimicked her titled head and pretended to study her.
Elysa rolled her eyes. "You are one clever little boy," she remarked.
Sirius lowered his eyelids modestly. "Thank you."
Elysa laughed at him. "So, anyway, about your family…"
"Well…"
Sirius lay down with his hands behind his head to think. Elysa did so, too. They both looked up at the blue sky. Finally Sirius began to speak. Elysa listened without interruption while Sirius told her about the fanaticism of his parents regarding purity of blood, their advocating of Voldemort, and how his mother finally cursed him from the house, shrieking insults.
When he was finished, Sirius turned to face Elysa, who was still lying next to him, and said, "I cannot believe I just told you all of that."
Elysa turned to look at him, too. She looked thoughtful. "Why not?" she asked.
Sirius shrugged, and flicked some grains of sand idly. Then he said, "I usually don't tell anybody but James, Remus, and Peter my personal issues. You probably think I'm one messed up little kid."
Elysa shook her head vigorously, no. "I don't at all, Sirius. Look, I… I know a lot more about… Voldemort and all of that than I told your cousin. The Fauchelevent Empire, if you will, stretches practically everywhere, so my relatives know about Voldemort's plans. And they don't approve, mind you… I mean, I have plenty of relatives married into the family who are muggle-born, and everything… but more importantly, they're worried."
Sirius looked at her curiously. "Why?"
Elysa shrugged. "They think Voldemort's stuff is going to be really, really bad. They think he will achieve much of what he wants to. They think he's going to take a miracle to stop."
Sirius was taken aback. "Then why don't they do something about it?" he reasoned.
Elysa shrugged again. "I don't know… nothing is certain yet, I guess, and besides, they'd need supporters. My family may be enormous, but it's not all-powerful." She laughed ruefully. "I'm sorry. I must sound really conceited."
Now it was Sirius's turn to shake his head vigorously, no. "No, I don't think so at all," he said honestly.
Elysa sighed. "I never really talk about my family. I don't know why I am now… probably because you just did. I don't know, I don't like to call attention to it. I just don't feel like blood is that important… I mean, I love my family and everything, but I think people shouldn't be judged on who their relatives are."
Sirius stared at her.
Elysa looked shocked at herself. "Good grief… that was like the most honest thing I've ever said. Consider yourself lucky, Sirius; you got to hear it firsthand."
She looked at him. "Wow. And that directly relates to your situation. Damn, I'm profound…"
Sirius laughed. Then he said, "You have no idea how much I wish that my family were as enlightened as you are."
"Actually, I think I have a pretty good idea," Elysa remarked.
Sirius smiled at her. She was so… genuine. And clever. And kind. And hot. Sirius opened his mouth to say something, though he wasn't sure what. "Why are you so honest with me?" he said at last.
"Likewise," she remarked.
Sirius squinted in thought. "You know, as long as we're being honest, this is like the longest time I've ever gone without getting to say something clever."
"Yeah, and you just blew it again right there," Elysa remarked.
Sirius shook his head at her, smiling.
"Just kidding," Elysa said gently.
A bell tolled out from the castle, announcing that it was almost time for supper.
Sirius looked back at Elysa. "Well…" he began. Had it been anybody else, Sirius would have started making out with them then and there. But Elysa was different. Sirius wasn't sure what to do.
"Just remember, Sirius," Elysa said quietly, "if you ever need a family, you will always have mine." Then she leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips.
She stood up quickly and began walking back toward the castle.
"Whoa! Wait!" Sirius called, standing up and brushing sand off of his pants.
She turned to face him again. Sirius was momentarily lost for words. Then, his mind catching up with him, he swept his hair out of his eyes and grinned at her. Elysa smiled broadly and shook her head, and they walked to one another. Sirius stared into Elysa's beautiful dark eyes for a moment. Then she raised her eyebrows as if to say, "Well?"
Sirius kissed her. It got more and more passionate as the moments passed, and they were just about sink down to the sand when the bell tolled out from the castle again, signaling the official start of dinner. Sirius and Elysa pulled back from one another, Sirius's hands still holding her hips, and Elysa's arms still wrapped around his neck.
"Let's go eat dinner," Elysa suggested in a whisper, jerking her head up toward the castle, though her eyes never left Sirius's.
Sirius shrugged, and pretended to think. "Well, I suppose we can always continue this later…"
Without thinking about it, he traced the small of her back with a finger.
Elysa smiled slightly, and unwrapped herself from Sirius. He slid his arm around her slender shoulders as they made their way back up to the castle, feeling somehow fuller than he had ever felt before.
Only two reviews? I think I might cry... :'(
But oh well! Thanks to tresdrole and Sadiler!
tresdrole - thank you!
Sadiler - glad you like the character portrayal... yeah, that's what I think they should be like, too. And thank you!
