Strangely enough still not my characters. Oh well we live to dream another day
"You were right," George said as the credits rolled.
"That was a good movie." Fred said with a smile.
"Yeah I can't believe they did all that stuff to each other." Bill said to himself.
"At least they got together in the end. He owned up to his mistake." Mrs. Weasley said with a dramatic sigh. As she finished there was a load grumble heard in the general direction of the couch behind Brenda.
She smiled and said, "Well I think that settles it, time for dinner." Brenda turned to Remus and smiled. He in turn looked embarrassed before leaning down and meeting her lips with a chaste kiss.
"What shall we have? Most of the food was used this morning with breakfast." Said Mrs. Granger.
"I know," said Harry with a guilty smile. "Can we, I mean to say, would you mind if we ordered take out?" He looked so guilty as he said it.
"You know that sounds like a great idea." Brenda said with a smile. "Do you have a favorite place to order from? Or shall we surf the net?"
"I thought we were talking about food not swimming" Ron asked bewildered.
"No, no she is talking about going to the computer and finding the information."
Hermione said exasperatedly. But at the confused looks from most everyone around her she shrugged and said, "Forget it."
Another rumble this time from Mrs. Granger's stomach decided the issue. "Okay what are we having?" Everyone looked at each other. The good majority of the wizarding family present had no idea what take out really was and the rest were pondering what they could recommend.
"Alright let's first decide what kind of take out we want." Mrs. Granger said with a smile.
"There is more than one?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Of course," Brenda said smoothly. "I think I would like a good pizza. Seems like it would go with the night." Sirius brightened with the comment as he could recall only ever having pizza once before many years ago.
"You know I think I know a place over here that has good pizza." Mr. Granger said with a smile.
"Well then pizza it is. I haven't had a good slice in a long time." Brenda said with longing.
"Charlie, Mr. Granger, Sirius and I can go get the pizzas." Remus said smiling as a plan was forming in his mind. While they were out he would have the men stop somewhere else.
"Oh take Harry too. With his new style and a little cover up he won't be recognizable." Brenda said as she looked at the hurt expression in Harry's eyes. It was obvious that he felt left out and wanted to go. He smiled at her suggestion and Mr. Granger agreed.
"Well then that completes the car seats. I suggest we decide what we want to eat and go shopping." Mr. Granger said relieved he would not have to take Mr. Weasley as he did not wish to spend the time explaining every little thing.
"Well I love olives, pineapple, and green peppers on my pizza. Most don't think it sounds good but I love it." Brenda said with a smile. Remus laughed, he was one of the people that had doubted its tastiness and come to love the style.
"I think that getting the basic cheese and pepperoni would be best with so many new comers." Remus said. He smiled then at Brenda's pout. "And I guess we will get a small Brenda Special." She clapped her hands and gave him a kiss.
"We can make a salad too. Ohh and what shall we have for dessert?" Brenda began babbling and wandering into the kitchen taking stock of what was actually left over after the meals of the last couple of days. "Brownies… mmm that sounds good." She mumbled to herself. Mrs. Granger followed her into the kitchen and pulled out a piece of blank paper from next to the pantry.
"How about we make a list and have the boys bring us back some necessities?" She said.
"Perfect," came Brenda's reply. Mrs. Granger, Brenda, Mrs, Weasley and Bill (oddly enough) began to compile a list of foods that would be needed to make it through the next morning. It was agreed that those who went for pizza would stop and order the food and then get the shopping done so they were not gone too long as neither Brenda nor Remus were interested in parting.
"I think that it would be okay if you had your wands back while you are gone just try to only use magic sparingly. As we do not know the effects it may have. Also take the cell phone just in case." With that the wands were handed to the parting wizards and the mobile given to the one muggle leaving the group.
As the car pulled out of the drive Ginny could be heard saying, "Alright I have waited long enough lets go swimming." The group did just that. They went out to the pool and played games. Fred and George spent some time indoors talking to Brenda as she did not wish to get wet again. They decided to take out a couple of board games and played LIFE and Sorry until others joined them and the men game home from gathering food.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
As soon as the car backed out of the drive Sirius turned expectantly to Remus who was in the back seat, behind Mr. Granger. "Well you going to tell me?"
"Tell you what?" Harry asked confused as Remus began to blush.
"I don't think so. It is a matter between me and my conscious." Remus replied.
"Tell you what?" Harry asked again confused and drew the attention of Charlie.
"Why he really wanted to leave the house." Mr. Granger said matter of factly, winking at Remus and Sirius.
"I thought he came to get the food." Charlie said confused.
"Ah, but we could have done that without him. He jumped on the idea of leaving the house and insisted that not only he, a well qualified wizard, but two other wizards were in the party. I can only assume that he did not mean to stay with Mr. Granger. Leaving Charlie to watch his back. I think that Harry here was just the added bonus." Sirius said ginning.
"I suppose you know me too well. I was in fact thinking of leaving the group for a little bit and thought I might convince you, Sirius to accompany me to my vault at Gringotts. That is if you do not mind us leaving you, Mr. Granger."
"Not at all, I am sure that Mr. Weasley and I can manage on our own." Came the reply.
"What are you going to get? Why do we have to go to Gringotts? I thought that we had the credit card to pay for everything." Harry said still not catching on. Sirius sat thinking and then looked as though Christmas had come early.
"Your going for it then are you? Must have been some make up last night." He said wagging his eyes and smiling at the former werewolf who promptly flushed scarlet.
"I guess I just thought it was a good a time as any."
"A good a time as any, what? What are you too talking about?" Harry asked frustrated. He looked to Charlie who began to smile as he seemed to cotton on to what was being said between the two men. He just shook his head at Harry and smiled again at Remus.
"I think that getting out here will be good. We will meet you here in one hour to head back to the house. Good luck gentlemen." Mr. Granger said as he pulled over to the side of the road near an empty alley. Remus looked sideways at Harry and asked, "Well did you want to come with Sirius and me or go get the food?" Harry was torn, while he wanted to know what they were talking about he also wanted to go to the store. He was never allowed to go to the store and pick out what he wanted and Brenda had said he could get whatever it was he desired. However, the way he figured it, Brenda was likely to allow him that privilege again. So he scooted out of the car with his godfather and Remus and saw Charlie move to the front seat.
"See you soon." They called as the car drove off.
"Good man Harry. Curiosity got the better of you eh?" Sirius joked as he punched him in the arm.
"Lets not dilly dally as we only have an hour and I want to make sure it is perfect." Remus said in a rush as he proceeded down the alley and grabbed Harry by the arm.
"Meet you at the front entrance. Ready Harry on three. One, two, three." With that Harry and Remus were gone from the alley only to reappear seconds later in front of Gringotts bank in Diagon Alley. Harry was still pondering what they were there for when Sirius appeared before them again. The two older men grinned at each other and moved into the bank heading to the first open goblin they could find.
"I need access to vault 16554." Remus said with a calm tone. The goblin simply looked him over and nodded silently. They were informed that they would be escorted down to the vault by the next available goblin.
"Would one of you please tell me what is in vault 16554?" Harry asked.
"All in good time Harry all in good time." Sirius said with a smile. He was glad for his friend. It had been a long time since he had seen the inside of this particular vault as Remus had only opened it once before and that was on the death of his mother just after they all graduated from Hogwarts. He came here to leave behind all of her important possessions that he did not feel 'worthy' of owning. The fact that he was here now was a huge step, for there was only one thing in the vault that Sirius could imagine Remus would need. He continued to ponder in silence as they moved through the underground networking of Gringotts Bank and arrived at the door to vault 16554.
Remus stepped out and allowed Sirius and Harry to follow. They went to the door where Remus placed his hand in a slot. It seemed to be the key. "Much more reliable than a key that could go missing. James was kind enough to pay for that for me." Remus said in answer to Harry's confused expression.
Harry stepped to the side to peak around Sirius. He had to admit to himself that he was just a little curious about what Remus would have in a vault. The man always seemed to have no money when he had seen him before that Harry was not sure if there would be anything inside. What he saw however made his heart sink.
The room was not small nor was it large. There were many furnishings in the room as if someone had moved an antique store inside the vault. The room was set up much as one would expect a house to look if there were no walls. There were no coins to fill a bag with but many priceless treasures from Remus' past as well as his family's. Remus moved quickly in the room assessing where everything was. There was a picture of his mother on her wedding day laying on the table in the middle of the room. He first moved to look at the picture as it had been quite some time since he had laid eyes on that beautiful woman. Since the death of his aunt a year and a half a go the room had become slightly more cramped with a couple more family treasures, but he himself had not delivered them to this room which would explain his slight disorientation.
"If I recall it should be around here somewhere." He mumbled to himself as Harry and Sirius huddled at the door watching as Remus moved a couple of boxes out of the way.
"Aha here it is." Remus shouted in victory as he held up a small wooden box. As it moved something inside clanged around. He quickly moved to sit in the settee as he reverently opened the box and pulled out each item contained inside.
"Sirius, do you remember this?" Remus asked as he pulled out an envelope containing a picture of the Marauders and Lily at her wedding. He had not know it was inside the box and was slightly surprised to find it in there. "Lily took that. Must have thrown it inside before we moved everything over here." Sirius said in response. Harry moved behind the couch so he could see the picture. It was then that he noticed what else was inside the box.
"Is that what you came for?" Harry asked pointing at the only other item in the box, a long platinum chain holding a platinum heart locket. Remus nodded and handed the chain over to Harry for inspection. Harry noticed what looked like a wolf and a moon were on one side of the locket. Inside there was a small key carved into the metal with an inscription reading, "Only you hold the key to my heart."
"Bit sappy don't you think?" Sirius said as he looked over Harry's shoulder.
"I think it is nice and she will love it." Harry countered. Remus continued to stare into the box until the goblin attending to them cleared his throat loudly signaling it was time to leave. Remus quickly stuffed his hand into his pocket and asked Harry for the locket back. Once he replaced the box they were all quickly ushered back through the front doors of the bank and on their way.
"One more stop and then we have to get back." Remus said with a sigh. He felt lighter than air at that moment as he was carrying the most important thing he owned and he hoped that soon it would be the most important thing Brenda owned. The made their way across Diagon Alley to Madame Malkins. Where Remus stopped to buy two small boxes and velvet bags to place them in. Sirius insisted on assisting with the colors chosen to house the two precious items. The larger of the two items was to be housed in a blue box that matched Brenda's eyes and the smaller more important box was black with pink lining. While he had not seen Remus grab the ring he was sure that his friend was now in possession of the Lupin family ring. It had been passed from generation to generation. Every generation of Lupin had worn that ring. It seemed that Harry was finally catching on to the subtle hints he had been dropping as to Remus' intentions. They finished their purchases and quickly aparated back the alley way where they were to meet with Charlie and Mr. Granger.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Charlie and Mr. Granger shared a smile as they drove away from the alley. It was not until they had placed their order at the pizza place and started shopping in the super market that they began talking on the subject.
"I can't believe he is finally doing it." Charlie said as they passed the rice.
"From what I understood last night, it is about time he stepped up to show her how he felt." Mr. Granger commented.
"Oh I agree, they looked so in love that first day that I met her and then something happened. I couldn't believe it. From what mom said she could do little more than morn for him while she was locked up sick before she found the cure. She was stunned by the turn he made after the last full moon."
"Hmm. Well she is a really nice girl. Though from what Mione says that is just part of her disposition."
"She can have just about anyone wrapped around her finger if she chose, I think." Charlie said with a smile. They continued to chat amiably as they wandered the store picking up the items requested of them and a couple more that struck their fancy. In less than half an hour they went to retrieve the pizza and make their way back to the alley to pick up the last three in their party before heading home.
Remus, Harry and Sirius were all waiting as the car pulled back into the alley. All three were grinning ear to ear and it seemed to spread to the other occupants of the car. As soon as the doors were shut Mr. Granger turned to Remus and said, "Well let's see it then."
Remus and Sirius grinned again and he pulled out one of the two bags he had purchased at Madame Malkins store. He carefully removed the locket from inside and showed it to both Charlie and Mr. Granger. Both men looked a little crest fallen at the sight of just the locket. Remus squirmed uncomfortably at the looks that crossed the faces of the other two men.
"Do you not think that she will like it?" He asked uncertainly.
"Oh yeah I am sure she will like it plenty." Said Charlie quickly, "it is just that I thought…"
"Well we both kind of assumed that you would be going for the ring." Mr. Granger rushed in, "But I guess the saying is true about when you assume." He trailed off at the end and turned to start the car on the journey home.
"Well you wouldn't be wrong. I did pick up the ring but I wanted to keep that a secret. At least until I can ask her." Remus said with a smile.
"Good man, good man." Mr. Granger murmured under his breath. "Well let's get home then shall we. Can't keep the women folk or the Weasley family from their food I suppose."
The car quickly turned up the drive and Mr. Granger honked the horn to indicate they were back and would need help brining in the food. The door quickly opened and Bill and the twins headed toward the car.
"Finally, thought I would have to eat my own hand." Bill said with a smile.
"We are here aren't we?" Charlie said laughing at his older brother's antics. They quickly moved to unload the car and get the food inside. Brenda smiled at them as they entered the kitchen and was already putting food items away before the bags could be set down.
"I missed you," she said as she gave Remus a quick kiss. "And you too." She said to Harry as he entered with a load of bags and she dropped a kiss to his hair. He blushed a little but was pleased that she had missed him. Mrs. Weasley had welcomed him into her home and offered him affection and love but Brenda's ties to his parents made him feel like he was coming home to a maternal figure.
"Aww, we weren't gone that long. Mum." Sirius said with a teasing smile. "But I suppose my presence would be missed if I stepped out of the room a minute."
"Did I tell you I missed you?" Brenda replied with a smile.
"But you didn't have to love. I know how you can't do without me." He replied with a smirk. "No where is my kiss?" She smiled at him and blew him a kiss from across the room.
"And mine?" Charlie pouted from beside her. She smiled at him in turn and kissed his cheek. Each of the unmarried males took their turns pleading for a kiss as they finished putting the groceries away. Mean while Mrs. Granger, Mrs. Weasley and the girls were setting out the food for their meal and finished setting each place as the rest of the party trickled in to sit at the table.