Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its characters, creations, and such belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing except Eve Pankhart, Dawn Pankhart, Mrs. Sternstone, Anna Twitter, Cynthia Young, Derek Gotter, and any other character not of J.K. Rowlng's creation that are original characters of my own creation, and my plot idea for this fanfiction, which comes from my imagination. The Phantom of the Opera and all its characters, creations, and such belong to Gaston Leroux and/or Andrew Lloyd Webber. I have not written this fanfiction to benefit me in any way, shape, or form; I am merely using my imagination in addition to J.K. Rowling's and Gaston Leroux's and/or Andrew Lloyd Webber's characters, creations, and such to produce this fanfiction for my entertainment and enjoyment, nothing more.

Author's Note: My apologies for not updating last Sunday. I had another busy week that prevented me from writing up another chapter. I will write in my profile if I can't update, as I did last week, so check there.

Again, I'd like to thank DarkHuntressMoMo for the inspiration for this chapter, and Captain Saru for drawing up a look for Woofie!

Over one thousand hits to this fanfiction! That's amazing! I'd like to thank my readers from the bottom of my heart for following the romantic journey Remus and Eve are preparing to embark upon. I have many ideas for the future, and I hope you like them. I'd also like to take the time to encourage any readers who haven't reviewed yet to please begin doing so. I'd greatly appreciate it! To my regular reviewers, please keep reviewing! It really helps me continue to write!

Publish Date: Sunday, February 17, 2008.

Written in the Stars

Chapter Seven: Fireside Reminiscing

Arcana's plump, purring body expanded and contracted lazily on the rug before the warm, welcoming fire. Her silver eyes squeezed tightly shut against the golden glow of the flickering blaze, and her tail flicked up like a snake tasting the air as she snoozed.

Beyond the rug Arcana was lying on sat two old friends, chuckling as they rediscovered ancient memories buried deeply beneath years of newer memories and fresher information. Eve and Remus were shaking with their laughter as they sat together in the center of the overstuffed crimson couch recalling tender times.

"Oh, and remember that time we were playing with cards and I didn't put them all back in a perfectly-straight pile? You got so upset with me… and you actually spent a few minutes trying to make the pile absolutely flawless!" Eve giggled and pulled a crimson-and-gold afghan from the back of the couch to fold around her shoulders, curling up beneath it as her eyes sparkled with mirth.

Shuffling a hand through his soft hair, Remus chuckled and replied, "Ah, yes, I remember. I was rather meticulous over the smallest details in my youth."

"I see it's a trait you haven't lost in your old age," Eve teased in reply as she pulled a stubborn curl away from her face.

Chortling, the young wizard bobbed his head in guilty agreement.

Eve's joyful gray eyes shifted to her lap where one of her hands was fiddling with the fringe at one corner of the blanket before she nibbled on her lower lip and caught his warm gaze with her once more. "You were the cutest thing when we were little, Remus."

Even though the compliment was done in innocent sincerity of his past, the boy felt his cheeks heat up at the knowledge that he had been "cute".

Crinkling up her nose- which Remus took note of with a somersault of his heart- as she grinned, Eve couldn't help but point out, "And such a bold child you were, as well! For shame, Remus, planting a kiss like that on me without having begun to officially court me first."

She had only been teasing him, he knew, but he couldn't help but allow his mind to wander back to that day in preschool when they'd both experienced their first kiss.

"Ah! Mussy!" Eve squealed as the pair raced to pile block on top of block to see who could build the 'biggest and bestest' tower first.

"Gonna beat you, Evie!" Remus replied hurriedly as he rushed to gather up the last of the blocks and set them atop the mountain he was building.

"Nuh-uh!" The little girl exclaimed. As she reached for another block, she found that they'd all taken shelter in one of Remus's arms, and she put her hands on her hips and shrieked, "Hey! You're cheating!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"How?"

Eve pointed at his armful of wooden blocks and replied, "You're not s'posed to hog the all blocks, Mussy!"

With a roll of his eyes, Remus extended a couple of blocks to the complaining girl and said, "Here, take these, then."

Swiping the blocks out of her friend's grasp in frustration, Eve sharply replied, "Thank you," before tending to her tower.

At long last, Remus stepped back in triumph and breathed deeply as he gazed upon his work. He'd made the tower wide at the bottom and then narrowed it as it reached the top. It was swaying slightly where it stood, but he was confident that it would stay put long enough to be judged.

Eve rubbed her hands together when she finished with her skyscraper of blocks. Her product was similar to Remus's in design, though it was a bit thicker all the way through, and so held its ground better than Remus's.

The little boy frowned as he looked between the two creations. "Oh, dear," he fretted as he came to realize that their constructions were exactly the same in height. "Hmm…" He hummed as he scratched his chin and pondered.

"Uh-oh," Eve murmured as she caught on to their dilemma. "What're we gonna do, now?"

With a snap of his fingers, Remus plucked up his favorite stuffed animal- a gray-and-white wolf- and held him up so his ebony plastic eyes could take in the sight they'd built. "We need a pro to call this one. Woofie," he began after giving the gray wolf time to think, "whose tower is taller?"

Eve wrung her hands out nervously as Remus tilted Woofie's head this way and that to take in the height of each structure. Finally, Remus lowered his ear to Woofie's snout and, nodding as if the wolf were really speaking to him, said, "Woofie says we both win. They're both the same amount of tall, so it's a tie!"

Eve jumped up and down excitedly, her tight chocolate brown curls bouncing with her as she reached out to shake the wolf's front paw. "Good choice, Mr. Judge!"

Remus dropped his ear to the wolf's muzzle once more before grinning and telling her, "He says he tries."

Eve giggled and took Woofie up into her arms after Remus untied his sky-blue blanket from around the stuffed animal's neck, where it looked like a superhero cape. While the little girl petted and snuggled the gray-and-white wolf, Remus took comfort in his usual routine of running his fingers over the midnight-cerulean words embroidered into the middle of his blanket: Remus John Lupin.

Eve giggled and pressed her nose to Woofie's cold, plastic one before cradling him as if he were a baby. "I love you, Woofie. You're the bestest lil' wolf ever!"

Remus, wringing out his blanket, took the time to study Eve. In his young brown eyes, she was perfect. She had beautiful hair and eyes that were an odd color (she hadn't seemed too pleased when he had mentioned the latter to her after he first met her), smart enough to build a block tower that rivaled his own on a consistent basis, and had the best taste out of anyone he'd ever met. Really, the girl would turn down anything during snack time in exchange for something chocolatey. She was perfect for him.

"Woofie loves you, too, Evie," Remus replied softly as he slowly stepped forward. "And… so do… I…" He blushed and gazed up at her with large, hopeful eyes.

"Re… Remus?" Eve questioned as she patted the back of Woofie's fluffy head.

Taking one of her small hands into one of his own, Remus tried to smooth back his unruly mop of hair and added, "I love you, Evie. You're the perfectest girl in the whole wide world."

Eve's eyes were wide enough to be mistaken for those of an animal's in a pair of headlights. She hadn't the slightest inkling of what she should do or say in response. Finally, it seemed to register in her head just how sweet all he was saying was, and she squealed. "Really? You-You really think I'm the perfectest, Mussy?"

Remus beamed and nodded his head enthusiastically. "Yes, yes! You really are the perfectest, Evie! When we grow up, you should marry me. You'll be the most perfectest grown-up ever!"

The little girl's face enlightened with pink at his compliments, and she batted her eyelashes at him. "Aw, Mussy! I'd love to marry you!" She threw her arms around his neck and bounced up and down. "I'm getting married! I'm getting married!"

Remus hugged the girl tightly in return, glowing with pride that he'd secured a future wife. Once his perfect wife-to-be pulled out of their hug and tried to push Woofie back into his arms, he shook his head and said, "No, keep Woofie. He's my married present to you."

Blinking at him, Eve looked down at the wolf pup in her arms and gazed back up at Remus to inquire, "Really?"

"Yes." He smiled as she beamed radiantly at him.

"I promise to take good care of him everyday, Mussy! I'll brush him and feed him and take him out on walks… but I'll have to sneak him into my house; Mummy won't even let me have a dog puppy, so I don't think she'll let me keep a wolf puppy." Suddenly, her features fell, and she tilted her head to one side, the light suddenly gone from her face. "But… But I don't have a married present for you."

Remus took Eve's hand and walked with her between their block towers. "Well… There is something you can give me."

"What is it?"

"Well…" He looked out the window at the smiling sun embracing the sky and grinned, turning to look at Eve. "Well… there's this thing my Mummy and Daddy do, and they're married. Maybe you could give one to me?"

"What do your Mummy and Daddy do?" Eve inquired, ready to do whatever was required of her to guarantee their future together as a married couple.

Remus drew in a deep breath and sucked in his cheeks, trying to think about how to word it. "Well, see, my Mummy and Daddy sometimes… well, when my Daddy comes home from work, he and Mummy…" He furrowed his brows, at a loss at how to explain. "Well, maybe I could give you one and then you give me one back as a married present?"

Eve nodded her approval.

"Close your eyes."

Her lids slowly fluttered shut over her stormy gray eyes and Remus, with only a moment's hesitation, leaned forward and lightly pressed his mouth to hers. It was as light as the caress of a butterfly's wing and scarcely lasted a second, but it was there, innocent and sweet.

He pulled away as quickly as he approached, and Eve opened her eyes, smiled, and, as she leaned in to return the gesture, murmured, "I love you, Remus."

"Ah, yes, but if my memory serves me correctly, you returned the favor," Remus pointed out. He chuckled as Eve swatted at him with a plump pillow and then settled back down under her afghan.

"I, um…" She cleared her throat and blushed a little as she said, "I still have it… him, you know." She lifted her eyes to meet those of the wizard sitting next to her and said, "Woofie."

Remus narrowed his eyes curiously and tilted his head to one side. "You… You kept him after all this time? Really?"

She offered a sheepish grin and nervously squeezed a corner of the blanket draped over her in her hand and replied, "Yes. I think he's the cutest thing, and… you know… sometimes, when I get overly stressed out or upset about something… I hold him while I sleep."

Remus smiled softly down at Eve, finding it utterly adorable of her to confess to such a thing. He carefully reached up and brushed a loose curl from her pretty face before stroking a cheek glowing in the firelight. "I'll wager he still loves you."

Eve chuckled and brought her hand up to hold his to her face as she playfully replied, "He tells me so when I hold him."

The pair sat completely still for a minute in time as the fire cracked and snapped and Arcana purred happily on the rug a safe distance away from the werewolf. Remus allowed his eyes to roam along the contours of the witch's feminine features, brought to a golden glow in the flickering blaze. The sharp contrast between the light and dark drawn in by the peaks and hollows of her face was stunning to him, and he felt the strong yearning to pick up a quill and draw her right then and there as she was. Eve, too, couldn't help but notice how sharp his features looked when accentuated by the fluttering light, and she took, for the first time, it seemed, proper notice of the faint, jagged scars that sliced down his face. With curiosity, she reached up and rested her hand on his sturdy jaw line, and noted that he shivered lightly when her fingertips barely made contact with the very tip of one particularly deep scrape.

The witch found with a pleasant warmth spreading from her chest that the two of them were slowly leaning closer and closer to one another, albeit subconsciously. She hadn't even realized it until she felt more pressure from his hand against her cheek followed by the same sensation of her hand pushing even more into his flesh.

Just before the two could press their foreheads together, Eve fluttered her eyelashes and released a breath before murmuring quietly, "Um… W-Why did you stop coming? To preschool, I mean." The spell broken, they both pulled back until they were a more suitable distance away from one another, and she cleared her throat and reiterated a little louder, "That is, one day you just didn't show up, and… Oh, Remus, I was so distraught." She pulled the blanket around her completely until she was enveloped in it.

Remus sighed and turned his head to gaze deeply into the fire. Within its flames, he watched as a mischievous little boy giggled and, under the cover of darkness and the blanket of sleep it laid over his parents, escaped from his house to frolic under the light of the full moon not long after he'd given Woofie to Eve. He swallowed as that same innocent little boy recklessly disobeyed his parents' orders about leaving their home unsupervised after sunset, and as he raced the wind up a hill and into his mother's garden, he crawled about on all fours like a wolf and howled to the sky, mimicking his, or, rather, Evie's stuffed animal wolf. Breathless and exhausted, the little boy plopped down amongst the flowers, lying beside vines of ivory-hued, thorny roses, winding up the fence of the little plot of land. A shadow crossed the fire just then, as the young man watched the little boy jump to his feet at a nearby, frightening sound, swinging his head this way and that in a frail attempt to catch which direction it was coming from. A twig snapped behind him, and when he turned around, he saw the distorted features of a wolf as it brought back its weight onto its hind legs. His eyes were a hellish silver, and the little boy gasped and tried to run away when it tossed its head back and howled, but one of his pants legs held fast to several clutching thorns in the rose vines. He bent down and, in a mad scramble to escape, tried to free himself, but the next thing the boy knew, fangs and claws were ripping into him, biting into his shoulder so deeply, his blood stained the white, white roses in the garden as he screamed into the night, never to be the same again.

Remus craned his head away from the harsh burn of the firelight, and grimaced against the painful memory that flooded his mind next.

Little Remus, still stuck in bed a few days after his biting, snuggled up with his blue blanky with his name embroidered into it and pulled his knees into his chest, almost wishing that he'd kept Woofie to comfort him in his time of need, though he knew that the wolf puppy was having a grand time at Evie's house.

All Remus could do during that time was use his newly- and regretfully-heightened sense of hearing to listen to his Mummy from the next room over sob into the phone to his preschool teacher, as she pleaded with her to pity them and allow Remus to have a normal childhood.

"Oh, please, Mrs. Sternstone, please let him return! He's made such wonderful friends, and the social activity would perk him right up; he may even heal quicker because of it!"

"I'm very sorry, Mrs. Lupin, but for safety purposes, I simply cannot allow him to be around the other children. I mean, the risk factor is exceptionally high according to the Ministry's view on werewolves-"

"For Merlin's sake, that preschool is supposed to be for muggles! They won't know the difference, they'll just think he's a little sickly!"

"The children may, for the most part, be muggle, Mrs. Lupin, but I certainly am not, and I know all too well that the existence of werewolves is real in our world. Now, whether the muggles would like to believe or not is entirely up to them, but, if a muggle child was ever injured by your son-"

"My son would never hurt another child!" Mrs. Lupin snapped through her tears.

"-then they would run the risk of becoming a werewolf him or herself, which, in turn, might lend itself to their discovery of the magical world." Mrs. Sternstone continued as if Mrs. Lupin never said anything.

"So what? So bloody what? I'm a muggle, and I did just fine when I learned of the magical world!"

"I must say that your case is quite different than an entire muggle family learning of the nature of the wizarding world. You married into our ways, Mrs. Lupin, the muggle family would be just that plus a werewolf if anything happened because of your son."

"Please… Please, show my boy some compassion. We've tried everything, Mrs. Sternstone; potions, spells, charms, medicine- everything! Nothing works, there is no cure for his lycanthropy, there isn't even anything that'll take care of the pain he'll go through each month! Can you imagine the toll on his little body? He'll need to know some happiness every other time of the month in order to combat the agony he'll go through during the full moon."

Pain? Remus didn't want any pain. Wasn't the bite his shoulder had been torn by enough? He was going to have monthly pain? He didn't want monthly pain; from the moaning and groaning he'd heard his mother do about 'monthly pain', he knew it wasn't fun. He didn't want to have to deal with that, especially since whenever she got her 'monthly pain', she was in such a sour mood that it almost made him afraid of her. He didn't want anyone to fear him!

"I'm sorry, but I simply cannot allow it."

Mrs. Lupin's head collapsed on the table, and she covered the speaker end of the phone with her hand as she sobbed. No one was offering a ray of hope or a scrap of help to her family, as if they were afraid that by so doing that they, too, would be inflicted with the curse that was now coursing through her little boy's veins. Turning to her husband, she whimpered, "No one will help us, darling. No one… No one will give our Remus sympathy."

Mr. Lupin's chin wobbled and he reached out to stroke his wife's light hair back from where it was adhered to her moist face. "What about… What about that girl? The one Remus seems so attached to? Can he at least contact her? Talk to her? I'm sure that would help."

The flame in Mrs. Lupin's hazel eyes flickered with new hope and she rubbed the tears off her face, blew her nose, and picked up the phone. Placing it to her ear and mouth, she cleared her throat and inquired, "Please… I'm begging you… Remus has taken to a little girl in your preschool- Eve, I believe her name is."

"I forbid him from seeing her."

"No, no, he won't, it's just… please, can he at least have her phone number so he could talk to her? That would lift his spirits so much, the poor child… He must feel so lonely now, so depressed. If he could just speak with her, I know he'd perk right up."

Remus tensed up in his bed before groaning softly as the motion brought on a wave of pain from the bitten sections of his neck and shoulder, and he relaxed. He could still talk to Eve? He would love that; he would love that so very much!

"Absolutely not." Mrs. Sternstone firmly responded.

"What?! Why not? He won't be in contact with her, so there's not a chance of harm!"

"That is a breach of confidentiality between the students' personal contact information and the school, for one thing. For another, you could just as easily set up play dates at your house or hers if I give you her phone number. No, I'm hereby cutting off all contact between your son and my students, and that is that, Mrs. Lupin. I thank you for your 

past support, but I must end it here. Good day." With that, Mrs. Sternstone hung up the phone and left the distraught mother banging her head on the table in turmoil.

Mrs. Lupin ripped out the telephone from the wall and threw it across the room, knocking into a large mirror framed by carved wood, causing it to rattle against the wall and fall, sending shards of glass everywhere. "They can't do this to my son, John! THEY CANNOT DO THIS TO MY SON!" She shrieked at her husband before falling into a shuddering, wailing heap on the floor. Mr. Lupin knelt beside his wife and gathered her into his arms, rocking back and forth with her in an attempt to calm her. Sniffling, he allowed his own tears to flow free.

"It'll be alright, dearest." He said, placing a kiss to the top of her head as she sobbed. "It'll all be alright." He couldn't help but believe with his heart and soul that this was entirely his fault. If he hadn't offended Fenrir Greyback, his tiny son wouldn't have had to pay. "Oh, Merlin, I'm so sorry. I'm so… so sorry!" He cried as he buried his face into his hair. No child should have to suffer through this.

Remus eased himself up to a sitting position, and, dragging his blanket along, slowly hobbled his way over to the room his parents were in. Standing in the doorway, he swallowed down a lump in his throat as one thing raced across his mind.

He'd never see Evie again.

"I, um… I mean, my parents, they… they couldn't send me anymore." Remus swallowed, finding his mouth suddenly dry. Clearing his throat, he elaborated, "They didn't have the money to."

"Oh," Eve breathed, pressing her fingertips to her lips. "Oh, Remus, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, don't worry about it. Things aren't as hard on us now, but…we're still not the wealthiest family in the world." Remus admitted. Because of all the useless treatments they've put me through. He thought bitterly to himself.

"Every family has its difficulties," Eve reasoned. "I mean, my family…" She cleared her throat and shook her head, leaning to one side to scratch an itch on her scalp. "Nothing, nevermind."

"No, what is it?" Remus inquired, tilting his head curiously.

"No, no, this really isn't the time or place to discuss such a thing… I'll… I'll tell you someday, I promise." Eve rolled up the sleeve to her sweater and checked the time. "Ooh, it's high time for some sleep, don't you think?" She inquired as she rose from her seat, folded the afghan and rested it along the back of the couch.

Remus stood up as well, and walked with her to the stairs that led to the girls' dormitory. Eve grinned shyly at the gesture and, pushing his bangs out of his eyes, said, "It was great catching up with you, Mussy."

With a smirk, Remus leaned forward and gently gathered her into a hug. "You, too, Evie."

The witch settled into his embrace for a minute, enjoying the feel of her heart beating heavily against his. Regretfully, sleep called to her, and she knew she'd be cranky in the morning if she didn't heed it, and so she lightly pulled away and, gazing up into his eyes, said, "Good night, Remus."

"'Night, Eve." Remus replied as she watched her ascend the stairs. Turning around, he began walking toward the steps that traveled up to the boys' dormitories, but came to a halt when he heard his name being called again. He swiveled back around and arched an inquisitive eyebrow at the blushing witch as one of her index fingers made a path along the cement in between the bricks that made up the walls.

"I still think you're cute." Eve shyly murmured, batting her eyelashes at her stunned friend before feeling even more blood rush to her face. Running a hand over the curls by one of her ears, she timidly cleared her throat and muttered another departure before walking the rest of the way to the girls' dormitory.

Remus stood stunned for a minute after she left. She… She thought he was cute? She thought he was cute. She thought he was cute! What the bloody hell did that mean? Was it the handsome kind of cute or the friend kind of cute? Well, it looked like he'd have to find out the hard way. What way that was, he wasn't really sure. Girls really were too complicated to figure out.

Shaking his head, he made his way up the stairs to the boys' dormitory, quite looking forward to a long night's rest. He'd had such a long day, he felt as if he'd recalled his entire lifetime.