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Chapter Three

It wasn't until two weeks later that they saw Tash again. She turned up on their doorstep while Harry and Sirius were out, smiling at Remus when he answered her knock.

'You did say to call by anytime,' she said a little defensively when he looked surprised.

Remus smiled and stood aside to let her in. 'I did,' he agreed, startled by how pleased he was to see her.

'Jeez, why am I attracted to the wrong women all the time?' he thought, leading her through to the sitting room.

He always seemed to want women he couldn't have - Lily Evans, his best friend's girl and his first crush; Nymphadora Tonks, who returned his affections for a while but soon moved onto a man closer her age - Charlie Weasley; not to mention the numerous women he developed crushes on that preferred Sirius and saw him as a way to get closer to his friend.

It looked as if Tash was joining the ranks when she asked, 'Are Sirius or Harry here?'

'No,' he said, taking her coat, annoyed by how disappointed he was that she'd asked about his friend.

When he got closer, he frowned, peering at her face. 'What happened to you?'

She had a bruise discolouring her cheek and a long cut near her hairline.

'Hmm?' she asked, distracted by the moving portraits that were waving at her. She wasn't sure what to do so smiled at them then turned back to Remus.

'Your face,' he said, indicating the injury. 'What happened?'

Tash raised a hand and touched the bruised area lightly. 'Raid,' she told him with a rueful smile. 'On a crack house. They didn't appreciate the interruption.'

His frown deepened. 'Held at gunpoint, bashed in a raid,' he said in a low voice, throwing her jacket over the back of a chair. 'What exactly is it that attracts you to police work?'

She chuckled and sat down, Remus sitting opposite her. 'I'm very accident prone unfortunately,' she told him. 'I always seem to have some kind of injury.'

She crossed her legs, her skirt riding up a little, and he almost groaned at the sight of her thigh.

'It's been a bloody long time since you were this close to a woman's legs,' his body reminded him, his cock twitching a little.

'Did you want to see Sirius?' he asked and she looked quizzically at him.

'Isn't it possible I came to see you?' she said and he felt himself flush a little.

'It's just…you asked about Sirius…' he stammered and she smiled, letting him off the hook.

'Relax, Remus,' she said softly then indicated her face. 'I had the day off because of this so I thought I'd take you up on your offer to come back rather than clean my flat. No ulterior motives to seduce a wizard. Although, if you're willing…?'

Her smile was cheeky and he couldn't help a laugh. 'I'm offering a drink,' he told her, standing up and hoping his semi hard on wasn't noticeable under his robes. 'We've got some Muggle stuff or do you want to try some wizarding concoctions? I warn you: some are a bit potent.'

Tash grinned. 'I'll take a non alcoholic anything,' she said. 'Surprise me.'

Her eyes dropped a little and her smile broadened. 'Surprise me again,' she corrected herself and he couldn't help a little groan of embarrassment.

She'd noticed the activity her legs had caused, creating even more havoc in his body. 'Back in a minute,' he mumbled, hearing her chuckle softly as he left the room.

He grabbed them a Butterbeer each, taking a few moments to try and force his body to behave. After several deep breaths, he went back to face her, noticing those chocolate brown eyes dropped again and her mouth twitched, but she didn't mention his previous condition. His own eyes shifted to her injury and he frowned again.

'I could heal that, you know?' he told her and she looked surprised.

'Heal it?' she asked and he nodded.

'There's a spell and potions that can be used to heal injuries,' he said, sitting down next to her. 'I could make that disappear in a few seconds.'

She made a little noise of disbelief but shook her head. 'As much as I'd love to see that,' she said. 'I think my colleagues would be a little suspicious if I was black and blue one day and healed the next.'

She cocked her head at him and said, 'Do you have doctors and hospitals like my world?'

Remus nodded and for an hour, they talked - Tash asking questions and Remus answering and explaining. She was particularly interested in Harry's job and Azkaban prison, her eyes narrowing when he mentioned that Sirius had spent time there.

'He's a criminal?' she asked and Remus hastily shook his head and told her about James and Lily Potter, Sirius' false imprisonment and his subsequent "death".

'It took years but, once the war was over, the Ministry revealed the Veil wasn't death - it was a kind of suspension,' he said, trying to explain that which he didn't fully understand himself. 'They were studying ways to suspend life and Sirius got in the way. But now he's back and he's been completely cleared.'

Her forehead was creased as she listened and she curled her legs up underneath her. 'He's been through hell, hasn't he?' she murmured, surprising herself by how readily she was accepting everything this man told her as truth. There was something about him: an integrity, an honesty that made her believe everything that came out of his mouth.

Remus nodded in agreement. He watched her take another sip of Butterbeer and lick her lips.

Nice lips.

'This is good,' she said, looking down at the bottle then back up at him. 'So…you've told me all about Harry and Sirius, and the drama in their lives. What about you? What kind of hell have you been through that left you with scars like those?'

She waved a hand at his face and he stiffened. 'Um, I'm… I have an….affliction,' he stammered, not quite sure what her reaction would be. He reached into his pocket and gripped his wand, ready to Obliviate her if she responded badly. 'I am a Dark Creature. A half breed.'

He saw her gaze run over him then she looked directly into his blue eyes. 'I don't see a tail,' she teased gently. 'And I've been looking pretty carefully at that specific area.'

He smiled grimly even as his body stirred again. 'No,' he said, his voice low. 'You won't see that until the full moon.'

Her face paled a little - even Muggles knew what kind of creature legend said came out at the full moon.

'Are you telling me you're a … werewolf?' she asked. To her credit, her voice didn't shake at all and she managed not to react when he nodded.

She just stared at him for a minute then said, 'Tell me about that.'

He did - telling her about getting bitten when he was a toddler and his transformations which, for years, had left him a snarling, angry beast.

'There's a potion now,' he told her, watching her closely. Her face hadn't changed from its calm mask since he'd begun talking. 'I still change and it's still painful but it's not a full transformation. I turn into a wolf - a regular wolf - and I keep my own mind. It's just my body that changes now and I usually just sleep through. Sirius keeps me company.'

Tash was silent for a moment then asked, 'Wouldn't you hurt a human in that form though? Even a wolf can bite.'

'Pads…Sirius…is an Animagus,' he told her. 'He can turn into a dog whenever he likes.'

He watched her and had to smile. She must be a fantastic poker player - her face hadn't moved at all, not even a muscle twitch. Again, she stared at him, brown eyes probing his blue ones. It was a full minute before she looked away.

'So, the scars are self inflicted,' she asked , her eyes lowering to his chest. 'Can I see them?'

Remus bit his lip then nodded, swiftly unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt. Tash shifted, sitting on the couch next to him then parting the sides of his shirt herself.

'Shit,' she murmured softly, her forehead creasing now that she saw the mess that was his chest. 'I thought mine were bad.'

She touched a particularly long scar lightly and he tried to hide his shiver at the contact. He pulled his shirt back together and hastily buttoned up again.

Tash looked up at him. 'Can't you remove the scars?' she asked. 'If you can heal wounds, can't you get rid of them?'

'These are cursed scars,' he said quietly. 'They can't be removed.'

She nodded, looking at his buttoned up shirt. 'Life must be difficult for you,' she said softly. 'I assume that…dark creatures aren't amongst everyone's favourite dinner guests?'

He smiled. 'No,' he agreed. 'We're not.'

He hesitated then said, 'What about you? Are you ok? I won't be offended if you run away screaming…'

'I have faced drug dealers, child molesters, wife beaters, an armed robber and even a murderer, Remus. A werewolf? Piece of cake,' she told him, sitting back and lifting her drink to her lips.

Remus tried not to laugh. 'Tash, most of the wizarding world consider me quite frightening…'

'Hmph!' she said dismissively, swallowing her mouthful of Butterbeer. 'I'm far more terrified of my mother. You want to see something scary? Cross her path in a full menopausal flight…Jesus! Give me a werewolf any day.'

He couldn't help his laugh now, seeing her smile broadly back at him. 'Thank you, Tash,' he said and she made a dismissive noise, her cheeks turning a little pink.

They drank in silence for several long seconds then he asked, 'What scars do you have?'

'Want to see?' she asked with a raised eyebrow then before he could answer, she lifted her shirt to her shoulders, revealing her bra with polka dots all over it.

Remus knew his face must be glowing red but he dutifully tried to see past what were pretty amazing breasts to look at the scars she'd mentioned. They weren't anywhere near as bad as his but there were quite a few scattered across her breasts and stomach. More than there should be even for an accident prone person.

'How…?' he asked.

'Car accident,' she told him, pulling her shirt back down. 'There are more…I could show you them if you show me all of yours….'

She slowly, teasingly, pulled up the hem of her skirt a little but he shook his head fast. 'That's fine,' he told her hurriedly, despite wanting nothing more than to rip that skirt right off of her. 'I get the idea.'

Tash giggled at his now flaming red face and took another drink.

Tash watched him drink as well and asked, 'So, you guys have any girlfriends?'

Remus choked a little on his Butterbeer but recovered quickly. He looked over at her and nodded. 'Harry has a girlfriend,' he told her. 'Ginny.'

A slow smile spread across Tash's face. 'I think we both know I wasn't asking about Harry, Remus,' she said and a muscle in his jaw leapt.

'No,' he answered then tried to clear his suddenly tight throat. 'No girlfriends. Sirius dates but never settles down with one woman and…well, werewolves don't date a whole lot.'

'You don't like dating?' she asked, misunderstanding him.

He chuckled. 'Women tend not to like dating a man who turns into a beast once a month,' he told her, surprised when she laughed.

'You ask my partner what I turn into once a month,' she joked. 'He'd probably take a werewolf over me.'

Partner.

He'd assumed from the obvious flirting that she was single, and was disturbed by how disappointed he was that she wasn't.

'Does he know that you're visiting a houseful of wizards?' he asked, trying to sound nonchalant. 'Your partner? He can't be too happy about it?'

She cocked her head again, looking puzzled for a moment then she smiled. 'My work partner. Andrew. My very gay work partner,' she told him. 'I'm single. Extremely single, and I have absolutely no intention of being anything else - ever.'

'You don't want to get married?' he asked, thinking this was probably the perfect woman for Sirius. 'Have a husband? Kids?'

'Can't think of anything worse,' she mumbled, finishing her drink. 'Trapped in a dingy flat with one man and screaming babies for the rest of my life. No way. Not for me.'

'What if you meet the right guy?' he asked and she smiled.

'Don't tell me you're a romantic?' she teased. 'Destiny? Soul mates? There is no such thing, Remus. I meet guys all the time that are the right guy - for a night. I don't believe there's a match for everyone. No one man could be that perfect.'

Remus gazed at her, seeing the tiny sliver of vulnerability she tried to hide in her very pretty eyes.

'What did he do?' he asked softly and she frowned at him. 'Whoever it was that hurt you so badly?'

Tash stared at him, her lingering smile fading, then looked away. 'Where's your bathroom?' she asked lightly.

He waved towards the downstairs bathroom and she left the room, leaving him thinking he'd just blown any chance he'd had with her.

'What's up, Moony?' Sirius asked five minutes later as he came through the living room door with some bags of food.

'We have a visitor,' he said. Sirius' mouth opened to ask who just as Tash walked through the door.

It had taken her a few minutes to compose herself in the bathroom. Remus had hit a nerve: a very raw, exposed nerve that she tried to keep protected behind carefully constructed walls. But he'd just walked right on through her shields as if they weren't even there. She felt strangely drawn to the brown haired man and was unnerved about the unusual feeling, desperately wanting it to go away.

'Well, hello,' Sirius said with a grin, glancing over at Remus before turning his attention back to Tash. 'Nice to see you again, Tash.'

She smiled. 'You too,' she returned, then Remus spoke.

'Would you like to stay for dinner, Tash?' he asked but she shook her head.

'No,' she told him, her face turning a little pink. 'Thanks but I should get going.'

'But I've only just got back,' Sirius complained. 'I haven't had a chance to talk to you yet.'

Tash smiled at his whining and picked up her coat. 'Why don't you walk me out, Sirius?' she said, thinking she may have just hit on a way to rid herself of her unwelcome emotions. She turned to the other man and smiled.

'See you again, Remus,' she said softly and he nodded.

'That'd be nice, Tash,' he said and was surprised to see her fading flush deepen again. She turned and Sirius followed her out of the room.

'How would you like to go out for a drink with me one night?' he asked when they reached the front door.

She pulled on her coat and smiled. 'Sure,' she said and he grinned.

'Tomorrow night?' he suggested and she nodded.

'Alright,' she agreed then suddenly grasped the front of his shirt and kissed him.

It was fast: hard and hot but Sirius was ready for her this time. He held her head in his hands firmly and responded, pressing her back against the door as their mouths moved hungrily on each other. His tongue searched urgently for entry and she allowed it, her own fighting with his for control of the kiss.

With a strength that surprised him, she turned them around, slamming him back against the front door. Her body pressed hard into his and Sirius' hands moved to her ass, rubbing her over the ridge of his rapidly growing erection. Tash moaned as she lifted her leg, wrapping it around the back of his legs to bring her body into more satisfying contact with his pelvis.

Tash pulled away abruptly, pushing herself off him. Sirius stared at her, a little stunned by what had been a fucking amazing kiss.

'Better,' she said, her voice a little strangled but her grin wide and cheeky. 'You've got potential.'

He let out a breath of laughter then moved so she could open the door.

'Meet you here tomorrow at seven?' she asked and he nodded.

He watched her walk down the block then turned to see Remus looking at him.

Holding up his hands in defence he said, 'Don't look at me like that. She started it - I thought it was polite to just go along with it.'

'Yeah, right,' Remus muttered, annoyed that he was so bothered by the heated kiss he'd just witnessed. 'Sirius the victim.'

He turned away. 'Come on. Those groceries won't unload themselves.'