The first thing she did after the Fidelius Charm was cast was to go see Remus. Saying goodbye to James, Lily, and Harry had been really hard. They had no clue.

She wandered into Lucrecia's Cafe around 9 in the morning and saw him. His cute little apron, pretty blue-grey eyes lidded as he poured a cup of tea for a few customers, smiling softly and politely. So beautiful. The way those eyes completely lit up and his smile spread across his face when he saw her.

"Fae! What are you doing here?"

"H-hey," she said shakily, tears spilling down because she was an overly emotional idiot. His smile disappeared and he dropped the kettle, practically running to her side.

"What's wrong? Fae, what's wrong?" he asked, big hands cupping her cheeks and lifting her face up so he could look at her, thumbs attempting to wipe away the tears. She laughed, sniffled, and buried her face in his chest. He hugged her back tightly and she did her best to explain.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm just being s-sil-silly," she said, laughing at herself through her tears.

Remus smiled gently at her. "No, no, being silly is my job, remember? Now tell me, love, tell me what's wrong."

"James and Lily and Harry are safe again, but I c-c-can't see them anymore."

"Oh.."

"I miss them already," she said weakly.

Of course Remus knew that she'd gone to help hide them this morning since they couldn't go on their usual morning run together. He didn't know about the Fidelius Charm and she wasn't planning on telling him. He'd only try and change her mind and because it was Remus, he most likely would. As it was, it was already difficult as hell.

Fae was caught between tears and laughter, sadness and joy, as Remus sighed and nuzzled her hair and whispered sweet nothings, promises that the time would go by fast, nothing would happen to them now, she'd see them again soon, it was okay to miss them, you're so loving and sweet and caring and strong, it'll all be okay, I'm here. Her tears were wiped away and she pulled back from his chest to dry off the rest, hiding her face embarrassingly in her hands. She hated having emotional fits in public places.

"Ugh, I'm such a mess."

He laughed lightly, removed her hands and pressed their foreheads together. "Never. You're beautiful. My wild, brilliant, headstrong Fae," he said, voice low and sweet, like music.

Since Kent had fucked off, Remus had steadily been getting more physically affectionate again, which Fae loved. Even if it scared her, she took comfort in it and just relished the joy it made her feel, knowing she wouldn't have it for much longer. However, all the sweet words of affection were new and he seemed to be constantly raining praise and compliments on her these days. She soaked it all up like a sponge, got weak in the knees, did her best to reply in kind but usually ended up tripping over words or running off to hide how flustered she was. Here and now, she didn't bother hiding her blush and instead smiled up at him brightly, eyes shining as she leaned up and nuzzled his jaw and gave him just a little kiss. Beautiful, he said, but his pleased blush was far prettier than hers, she just knew.

"Everything alright?" Lucrecia asked, startling Fae.

She redoubled her efforts to wipe away the evidence of her sorrow and then gave the woman a cheerful smile. "Everything's fine, I just came to see Remus because I was upset about something. I'm fine now, I didn't mean to disrupt him at work."

"Nonsense, I'm always available when you need me," Remus insisted, leaning down to nuzzle her softly. Fae's heart skipped a beat.

"Thank you, darling. Now you get back to work," she told him, pushing him back towards the counter, albeit reluctantly. She really never wanted to let go and dreamed of a day when she didn't have to.

"What about you?" he asked, giving her a considerate look.

She shrugged. "I'll hang out here for a bit. Calm down, do some reading, I guess." Which sounded great, actually. It was something she loved to do, it brought her comfort. She just wanted to be close to him.

Remus mulled that over for all of two seconds before he turned to his boss with a grin. "Lucrecia, would you mind terribly if I took the day off?"

"What?!"

Lucrecia beamed back. "Not at all, dear. It's a beautiful day, you two should enjoy it. I'll be just fine here," she said, waving them out the door already.

"Thanks. Let me just get this batch of scones out of the oven and then we'll go, okay Fae?"

"What? No, you don't have to take off work, I'm fine, really!" Fae said, only sort of meaning it. Of course she wanted to get out of her and spend the day with him, but fuck. How embarrassing that she'd been such a basket case he felt he needed to look after her. So sweet.

"You know, you should take some of those scones with you and some sandwiches. It's perfect weather for a picnic," Lucrecia added.

"Great idea. Mind if we take some coffee cake and a few drinks too?"

"Absolutely, wouldn't be a proper picnic without them."

"Hey, don't ignore me! Really, you don't have to-"

Remus cupped her face, met her eyes fiercely. "I want to."

"Okay."

They walked home together, Remus holding the picnic basket in one hand and her hand firmly in the other. Fae wasn't quite feeling up to being chatty, still a little shaken from her emotional episode, and so Remus picked up the slack. He cheerfully gave her the latest updates on their favorite regulars and told her a wild story about how Mrs. Delores of all people had come in the other day to request a birthday cake made with red velvet, peach cream cheese icing, and a filling of red gummy worms, all shaped like a baby. Fae called bullshit so hard, laughing and gagging at the idea of it.

At home, they spread out a huge blanket and practically every pillow in the house in the backyard and settled down to enjoy their food while Remus continued telling Fae all about his latest coffee invention - a 7-layered cake similar to tiramisu, but with ice cream and vanilla cake layers. It sounded amazing and she couldn't wait to try it. He promised to make some for her and bring it home tomorrow.

They'd brought the wireless out too and just let it play softly in the background while he told her about the latest textbooks he'd been editing and how he'd finally gotten around to reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and thought Alice reminded him so much of Fae, curious and bold and adorable. She flicked him in the nose for calling her adorable and insisted she was more like the Mad Hatter and he was more like Alice, sweet and gentle and far too kind. They bickered about that for a bit and Fae started laughing mid-sentence as she remembered painting the roses red and that very first invention with Fleamont when she was 14 and they tried to change the colors of roses for Euphemia.

Tired of holding herself back, Fae set down her empty plate and crawled over to Remus, settling herself halfway over him before she just collapsed down onto his chest, forcing him onto his back on the blankets while she snuggled up to him happily. Her nose was buried in his neck and she deeply inhaled his scent as she luxuriously stretched against him, molding her body into his and making it clear she wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

He laughed, wrapped an arm around her tightly, adjusted them just a tad, and continued talking away with Fae answering occasionally, but mostly just keeping her hand over his heart to feel the beat and the vibrations and the life of him. His voice was so nice and his fingers laced easily with her's when he got ticklish from the patterns she was drawing in his sweater. She fell asleep to him pressing casual kisses to her hand and her forehead and her hair between his words.

When she woke up, she was a little pissed that she'd fallen asleep and wasted time. But he had been so comfortable and warm and perfect. And then she was pissed that she was alone again, only to have her eyes focus on the little note right in front of her face, pinned down by a small hand-picked bouquet of sunflowers from Euphemia's gardens. Or, well, she supposed they were Remus' gardens now. They'd grown quite wild, but he did his best to tend to them when he had time, the sweetheart. The note simply said:

Catch Me If You Can

Accompanied by a little drawing of the woods. Fae was grinning and up on her feet immediately. Laughing and breathless, she sprinted into their woods and started the hunt. Judging by the angle of the sun, it seemed she hadn't been asleep for too long and was grateful. That being said, he must've used his time wisely because he had cast several scent trails which led her to dead ends. No matter though, she could still hear him and feel him close by. Real close, actually. There was a quick tug at her hair, a quiet laugh, a crunch of grass, and he was sprinting away from her. Fae turned and pursued, pumping her legs and reaching for her sweet prey with delight. Except the little bastard apparated away just before she could catch him. She jumped through the rift, apparating blindly right after him with the last traces of his magic and landed on the other side of the woods. He was already gone and she could hear him, laughing out of reach. Clever thing.

It took her longer to track him down than usual, but she got him. She always did in the end. Tackled him from above and pinned him down to the earth, both of them grinning and giggling madly. Then he did something a little different. Instead of conceding defeat and switching who was hunter, he leaned up close to her face and slowly licked the length of her neck and her cheek, punctuating it with a sweet kiss high on her cheekbone. Fae squeaked and pulled back sharply in surprise, instantly a blushing and stuttering mess. He smirked devilishly, bucked her off, and started running again. Heart racing, Fae chased.

They did switch roles eventually, Remus chasing and Fae evading capture. For the first time, and maybe only partly because she really wanted him to, Remus caught her. He pinned her effortlessly and grinned madly as he watched her shriek with laughter and fight to get out of his grip, squirming wildly. He'd keep her pinned effortlessly for a few minutes and then pick her up, stand up, set her on her feet, blindfold her, and spin her round so he could start running. They went back and forth like that for hours and it was wonderful.

They stopped only when Fae was hugely distracted by a deer passing by and she realized she was starving. The sun was dipping low now. Nobody was home to ring the dinner bell, but they raced each other back all the same, Fae making it to the back porch first as usual, and Remus right behind her, tackling her onto the porch swing and tickling her until she screamed.

Although she was ravenous, Fae insisted that they go grocery shopping and cook dinner. It was more fun than take-out and honestly, it had been a long time since they'd gotten to do that. They took the Thunderbird and she generously let him drive, sticking her head out the window and whooping as he floored it down the drive into town. They blasted the radio as loud as they could and rolled all the windows down. It was a short drive, too short, so they just stayed in the car, singing in the parking lot until the song was over. And then the next song was really good, so they stayed and sang to that one too, dancing in their seats and jokingly serenading each other.

When they eventually made it into the store, he kept a firm grip on her hand because Fae had a really bad habit of running off to the bakery section or the cereal aisle or the snack cakes and forgetting to get real food. She swung their combined hands back and forth obnoxiously and made a game out of slipping random, obscure items into their cart when Remus wasn't looking. He got her back, casually peeling the bright orange price stickers off of jars and packages before sticking them to her back without her noticing. It was a miracle they got out of there, but again, Fae was hungry.

At home, Remus took command of the kitchen and Fae did her best to fuck him up. Charming the fire on the stove to be cold instead of hot, repeatedly untying his apron strings and tying them to drawer handles, stealing his ingredients and running around the house with them so he'd chase her and pick her and the food up and return to the kitchen, juggling plates and pretending to almost drop them, always sneaking under his arm and inside his broad body so she could sneak tastes of the food.

And when that didn't stop him in the slightest, she brought out the cassette player and started blasting music again, dancing all around him and trying to pull him into dancing with her as often as she could. Somehow, he was able to twirl and twirl her while serving up the most delicious pancakes, bacon, and eggs she'd ever had. Her amazing, lovely darling.

Since he'd cooked and had absolutely no help from her, he stuck Fae with dish duty while he went to take a shower. She'd only just finished when he reemerged and suggested she grab a quick shower too, practically shoving her towards the bathroom. Strange, but sure, she could stand to wash off the sweat and grime from their game of Hide and Hunt. Really though, he smelled so good fresh out of the shower that she'd been in a daze and kind of just steered into it. It was even stranger when she walked out in her towel and saw one of her favorite dresses hanging from her door knob, an adorable blue number with short sleeves that buttoned all the way up her front and swished around her thighs airily. She put it on with a grin and went to find him.

Her heart completely melted when she found him waiting in the backyard. He looked lovely, hair combed back and still adorably messy, a simple white button-up and blue waistcoat paired with slacks. Sleeves rolled up to his elbows, no tie, a charming and playful shine in his eyes. Neither had bothered with shoes. Their little picnic had been cleaned up and he had, somehow in fifteen minutes, set up the string lights they pulled out for parties or when they had company over to eat outside. Her cassette player was on the porch, playing their favorite songs and charmed with a Sonorus to the perfect volume.

"Fancy a dance?" he asked, holding out his hand and smiling beautifully. "A proper one, that is. None of that sloppy wiggling you did in the kitchen," he teased.

"Love to."

They danced. Grand waltzes that were even better than the waltzes she and Sirius could pull off anymore, so in-tune with each other. Rock'n'roll shuffles and head banging and air guitar. Rocking and swaying to R&B that wouldn't exist for years. Hilarious attempts at Lindy Hop. Twisty tangos and spectacular jazzy swings and cute attempts at Quickstep and jumping and jiving and spinning, spinning, spinning in their own little world and laughs ringing into the universe.

It could slow to a complete stop and she'd be happy forever. She'd be happy living this day over and over, forever. She didn't want it to end and foolishly played slow songs like Flightless Bird, American Mouth or Unchained Melody or The Night We Met or Champagne Supernova, thinking maybe time would slow down just a little bit to match. So they could just sway slightly together, bodies completely aligned, hearts beating in time, wholly intertwined. And they could just stay like this together forever in euphoria.

Fae kept her face buried in his shoulder, doing her best to remember every single thing about this moment, how he felt in her arms, how he smelled, how it felt to have his arms tight around her and his head leaning over hers and giving her hair sweet kisses every so often between quiet singing to the music. She clung to him, arms stubbornly refusing to unhook from around him, even as their slow dance eventually slowed to an almost complete stop.

However, she couldn't help the yawn that slipped out eventually and he chuckled lightly. "I think it's time for bed," he teased.

"Nu-uh, not asleep yet. I'm fine," she said, words slurring and muffled.

"You're falling asleep, love. Come on, lets-"

"Don't wanna," she argued.

His shoulders shook with laughter. "Fae."

She looked up at him. "You remember when we were kids? And you and me and Peter and my brothers would spend all night playing in the backyard and then watching movies and late night shows and trying to stay up, because we just didn't want the night to be over?"

"What, are you saying you're enjoying yourself so much that you don't want to go to sleep? I'm flattered," he teased.

And yeah, that was exactly it. Almost. "You know I love spending time with you, just us, just like this."

"Me too."

"I'm never happier than when I'm with you, Remus," she said. And then buried her face in his shoulder again, red hot with nerves and shyness and embarrassment. "And yes, alright, I admit it. I don't want to sleep and miss anything." Merlin, she was pathetic.

It's not enough. Where you're concerned, it's never enough.

Remus twirled her out and then spun her back in just close enough for him to press their foreheads together. "You won't. I'll still be here when you wake up tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. Even with the war and whatever happens in the future, it'll always be you and me, just like you said. And you're always right, right?"

And that just wasn't fair. Calling her love. Promising to be there when she woke up. Why couldn't it have been like this years ago? Why? Why now? Why couldn't he mean it? Why couldn't it be real?

She nodded, eyes teary and cheeks still flaming. "Yeah… But can we stay together and sleep in the living room tonight? Like back then?"

"Sure," he said, turning them towards the house and kissing her lightly on the temple as they walked in together. They separated only to go to their rooms and get pajamas. As usual, Fae was faster. A few minutes later and she was already waiting for him on the couch in a pile of blankets and pillows that threatened to spill off the furniture. She hadn't bothered pulling it out or charming it larger, wanting to be as close as possible. There was a cup of tea for him and a glass of water for her on the side table, the tv was already playing some random movie on mute.

Fae reveled in the bright red blush that covered his face when he came in and saw her waiting for him. She wasn't wearing anything scandalous, although she'd definitely thought about it. No, just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. It was just that the t-shirt she happened to be wearing was the one she'd stolen from him about three years ago, on the night they'd had sex. Apparently, he remembered. She smiled sweetly, patted the couch beside her, and then turned, holding a brush over her shoulder and wordlessly gesturing for him to come brush her hair out. He obeyed.

When he was done smoothing it out, she let him just run his fingers through it for a while, sort of braiding a few sections and then unbraiding them as if he couldn't decide what he wanted to do with it. She was impatient though, so she figured she should at least arrange herself how she liked while he played with her hair. Turning abruptly, she pushed him down on the couch and manhandled him into a laying position until she could crawl between his legs, lay down on his chest, and then grab his hands and settle them around her and back in her hair while she buried her face in his shoulder happily, arms curled up on his chest and fingers brushing over his collarbones.

"Your hair has gotten really long again," he commented idly.

She snuffled a small laugh. "Yeah, it's getting to be unmanageable. I was thinking about cutting it for the summer so it's lighter," she joked.

"Don't you dare."

"No, just imagine it, I'd cut it right to my ears. Maybe dye it pink," she said, folding her arms over his chest and propping her head up on them so she could grin teasingly up at him.

He frowned deeply and gave her bangs a tug. "Please don't do that, hair dye smells awful."

"Ugh, so true. One of my coworkers bleached his hair once and I swear my nose was burning for weeks."

They both laughed. Remis smoothed his fingers through her bangs and the long strands framing her face. Thanks to all his attention, it slid easy like butter. "I like your hair the way it is."

"It's beastly and completely untameable when it's humid," she argued.

"It's gorgeous."

"You're gorgeous," she said, completely serious despite the joking tone.

"You're funny," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm hilarious. Also, right," she said, and then because it seemed to be one of their favorite little things lately, she turned to reminiscing again. "Remember that time we were running from Filch after curfew and my hair got caught on the moving staircase?"

When they got to remembering and laughing like that, it could go on for hours. But not this time. After a little while, his voice slowly drifted away and with it, his stroking hands and his consciousness. She tried not to cry. Failed. Cried quietly and held onto him for a really long time, not bothering to sleep. When the tears dried up, she sat up slightly, enough to clean off her face and then gaze down at him, watching him sleep like a total creep. So beautiful, her darling. She layed back down and shifted, so she could prop her head up on her elbow and run her fingers through his hair, thinking of him, unable to think of anything but him. How much she loved him.

He didn't wake up when they normally would, a little before the sun would rise and they would typically go for their morning run. Remus slept through it, like she knew he would. She rose from the couch alone and began to prepare, heart racing and dead inside all at once. A list of things she would need had been written and refined long ago, it was just a matter of shrinking it all into her bag now. She put all of her other things away. Left one letter on the kitchen table. Wrote a second letter and went to Remus' room. She would be hiding this letter for him, somewhere he wouldn't find it for a while.

She looked around for a bit, trying not to get too distracted by seeing all of his stuff and fighting the gut-wrenching instinct to turn back, change her mind, and get back on the couch with him. But no, she had to do this. For him. For Euphemia and Fleamont. James, Lily, Harry, Sirius.

He'd just finished reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, so she decided to leave her letter for him tucked inside that book, knowing he'd leave it alone for a bit, but would probably get her clue later on, when he needed it. Hopefully.

It was to her surprise that she found a bundle of letters hidden at the back of the shelf. Curious, she pulled them out and sat on his bed, inspecting them. Then she laughed bittersweetly. They were all his rejection letters from that summer he spent job hunting. On impulse, she untied the bundles and began to read. The London Museum. Ministry Records Secretary. Business and Administration Assistant at the Planetarium. There were so many.

Actually, there were more than she remembered, and she figured out why when she came upon a rejection letter she'd never seen before. A letter from The University of Athens, rejecting his enrollment and rescinding their scholarship offer because they didn't want any trouble from a werewolf in their city. There were nearly fifty more. Oxford. Harvard. Cambridge. Edinburgh. Amsterdam. Copenhagen. Oslo. Florence. Verona. Zurich. Barcelona. Columbia. Stanford. Yale. Cornell. Dartmouth. Princeton.

All rejections, but a vast majority of them had been with scholarships. They just...didn't want a werewolf and hadn't known he was one until he actually tried to enroll.

"Oh Remus. You idiot."

The letters were all dated from that very same summer. How come he never told her?

It didn't feel right leaving her letter for him there, not anymore. So she changed her plan a little, went back out to the living room and sat beside him on the couch. The sun began to shine through the windows as she drew a little white rabbit on his arm. Then she just watched him sleep a second longer, so beautiful and peaceful in the morning light. His hair was so soft as she ran her fingers through it and his lips were even softer as she leaned down and gave him a sweet, lingering kiss.

"Goodbye, my darling."

And then she was gone. Her things packed away, the Thunderbird under the tarp, no coffee mugs or half-empty glasses of water laying out forgotten on tables, no books or notebooks left open, clothes off the line and put away, her music tapes all lined up on the shelves and in their cases. Thanks to Celeste's teachings, even her scent disappeared at the door.

She walked to Lucrecia's, excited and sad and ready to run, but needing to take it all in.

"Good morning Lucrecia," she greeted the woman.

Lucrecia looked at her in surprise, curious. "Oh, Fae, good morning. How are you?"

"I'm good thanks," she said, idly wandering over to the bookshelves. "Unfortunately, Remus is feeling a little bit under the weather today. Probably spent too much time in the sun yesterday, the silly git. Think you'll be okay if he stays home again?"

Lucrecia was quiet for a moment, considerate, and then nodded. "Yes, of course. I hope he feels better soon."

Fae pulled Alice's Adventures in Wonderland off the shelf, settled her letter in it, and returned it. "Thanks, I'll tell him," she said.

Then she met Lucrecia's searching, wise gaze. Shrugged a shoulder. "Okay, well I just wanted to let you know. I gotta get going."

"Here, take these with you."

It was a container of cinnamon rolls, freshly baked and covered in cream cheese icing. "Oh, for Remus?"

"For you."

"What?"

Lucrecia settled a hand on her cheek, gave her a proud look and then a wink. "Give 'em hell, sweetheart."

"I will," Fae said, grinning. Should've known better than to try and fool her. Lucrecia had been looking after her and her brothers and the Aurors for years. "Look after Remus for me?"

"Of course. Good luck."

After Lucrecia's, Fae went to Peter's. She made breakfast and fed it to his new house plant which she had lovingly named Audrey. And then reminded Peter what would happen if he failed to follow her orders. She left him with a notebook for communication which he was to check twice a day. She told him she'd know if he didn't and he believed her.

"Fae, wait."

"What."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you making yourself a target?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "To protect the people I love." And then grinned sharply. "And because, deep down, I am one sick, fucked up, monster hellbent on having my revenge."

They laughed. It was familiar and yet so strange, to laugh with him. Peter. Sensitive, wallflower Peter. Always saw everything, and had never once judged her for her brutality. She wished things had been different for them all.

"I am sorry, Fae."

"I know."

Peter nodded and then said. "You and Romilly once told me that I was meant to be both, Slytherin and Gryffindor. Sly and ambitious and brave and courageous. I didn't believe you. I'm not brave."

Fae scoffed. Understatement of the year. Merlin, Romilly was going to be so pissed when she found out.

"I don't know what you're planning, but I… I'll try and be better. I promise you," he eventually said. His eyes were uncertain, no resolution or fierceness or fire like in Sirius or Regulus, but all the same she wanted to believe him.

"Don't let my family get hurt."

"Good luck and stay safe."

"Goodbye Peter."

She'd already turned in her keys to the print shop and said her goodbyes, so all that was left was to head down to the travel agency. The one that had taken her and Remus and her family to Greece. It seemed like it had been so much less time and yet also so much more time between. Before entering the agency, she put on the Invisibility Cloak and let it just seem like a hefty gust of wind. The woman behind the counter squealed and shut the door again while Fae easily sauntered into the back room. There was a portkey scheduled for Ms. Isla Reynolds to take her to Amsterdam. As far as everybody knew, Isla Reynolds was a no call, no show and Fae Potter had disappeared.

Romilly was waiting and Fae burst into tears, leaping into her friend's arms after so much time apart.

"It's so good to see you! I missed you!"

"I missed you too."

"You look great! Wow, long hair suits you! And you're so tan! Romilly, you're a bombshell! What the hell!" Literally, what the hell. Romilly had always had enviable long legs, but they'd grown toned with all her traveling. She had more pretty freckles than ever, skin tan and shining. And her hair shone even brighter, blonde as ever, but now falling halfway down her back in unbelievable and manageable looking waves rather than crazy curls. Must've gotten a perm or some other. And her eyes were perfectly kohl-rimmed, long lashes, and big blues shining sensually. Fae missed her big glasses, but she couldn't deny that Romilly's fierce make-up, gorgeous eyes, and on-point make-up was alluring and beautiful as fuck. It looked good. She looked hella good.

Fuck, Romilly got hot. Traveling the world had done her good.

"And you haven't changed a bit, Fae," she said laughing. "Come on, let's get out of here."

They went back to Romilly's hotel room, Fae chattering all the way and asking Romilly everything she could think to ask about the last few years. Sure, they'd written, but it was sparse and far and few in between so most people would think they just naturally drifted apart post-Hogwarts. Romilly was like Peter in that way, lowkey and easily missed.

After dropping off their stuff, they went out to get some take-out, came back, got stoned on the balcony, ate everything, talked and laughed all day, and then fell back on Romilly's bed after sunset so Fae could conjure her fairy lights and stars on the ceiling while brushing out each other's hair and braiding it, painting each other's nails, passing chocolates back and forth, leaning on each other's shoulders. Just like old times.

They talked about the werewolf packs and the dragon reserves. Romilly's trip to North America and Central America. Fae's trips to St. Ives and Perth. How awkward and hilarious, but strangely successful, Regulus had been at pretending to be her boyfriend and the way he'd won over her family as Kent. Romilly's numerous one night stands and fleeting paramours, since apparently she was a heartbreaker now. All the different creatures she'd seen, poachers she'd fucked up. Their families. Bambi.

They talked about chocolate and Hogwarts and Hufflepuff and the few courses Romilly had taken at the Savannah College of Magizoology. They talked about Fae's rediscovery of her love for Graphic Design and her love for the publishing industry and Regulus' interest in the medical field, even if he didn't actually admit it.

The next day, it was back to business.

Romilly was made aware of every detail of her plans, insofar as Fae thought she should know, and of all the things she and Regulus had discovered in the last year and a half. She outlined what the next few weeks would be like - particularly dangerous and risky. Calculated risks, but still. Romilly was under no obligation to stick too close until after they'd gotten Regulus, she insisted.

Romilly grinned sharply.

"And miss out on the chance to let Reginald have some fun? No way in hell."

"Reginald?"

Reginald, Reggie as she affectionately called him, was a dragon. An actual, living, breathing dragon. Fae was completely starstruck by him, and by her badass friend. How the fuck?

A lucky fluke, Romilly said. An anomaly. Dragons never imprinted on anything but dragons. Even abandoned eggs would hatch and forge a bond with another adult dragon of no relation. But this particular abandoned egg had been rescued from poachers and then had been so eager to thank their savior that they burst out before Romilly could get to the reserve. It was literally only half a day, but they fell in love and when the little one refused to permanently bond with any of the adults at the reserve, Romilly stuck around and then visited often so he could grow up healthy and at least slightly socialized.

"Soo….. Is this your way of telling me you're somehow part dragon? Because I gotta say, I'm a little pissed you didn't tell me when we acknowledged my lycanthropy."

Romilly rolled her eyes.

And, as it usually was with her best friends, that was that. Easy as.

She wrote Peter a location and a day. Told him to tell the Dark Lord that she had confided in him and gone there with his instruction to meet someone he knew for help. A perfect chance to ambush her that Peter had set up, just for you Milord, she is the Secret Keeper and will lead us right to the Potters.

The person she 'met for help' was Romilly Polyjuiced as the owner of a specialty sports shop and when two Death Eaters arrived to capture her, she met them smiling.

A week later, she wrote him another location and another day. This time he would tell the Dark Lord that he knew where she was because that was where her long-time boyfriend had lived and there was a chance she'd gone to see him and lie low.

Romilly put on the glasses and pulled off 'Kent' almost better than Regulus did, enjoying and stealing her fair share of kisses for show as they held hands and walked down the street late at night, romantically like a couple in love, but waiting for their next set of attackers. Poor bastards had no clue.

On the third time, the third location and day for Voldemort to try his hand at nabbing her, the suggestion was routed from Fae to Peter to another Death Eater, so that guy could take the fall for the inevitable and massive failure.

It was glorious and perfect and out of that third battle, she got exactly what she wanted.

Sirius should've known better. He should've seen it coming. She'd fought so hard to become Secret Keeper and he should've fought harder to stop her.

Things had been going wrong for a long time, what with the war and James, Lily, and Harry constantly nearly being killed and Members of the Order being hurt or disappeared or killed left and right. He thought the Fidelius Charm would help, at least one less thing to worry about.

But then Fae left. He'd been on a 2-day escort mission for the Order and when he came home, it was to Remus fast asleep on the living room couch, alone, in the late afternoon when he normally would've been at work. That was the first red flag. He shook Remus awake and it took a few, long heart-racing minutes before the tawny-haired werewolf woke up, drowsy and completely out of it. He was calling out for Fae, not realizing that it was Sirius. He shifted into Padfoot and there was the second red flag. The smell of Sleeping Draught and worse, the stale smell of Fae which told him she hadn't been here for hours. The cleanliness of the house and the sheer lack of any of her stuff was the next red flag.

And then Remus was wide awake and aware she was gone too. Wondering if she went into work, except it was Sunday and she didn't work on Sundays. And Remus did, so he should've been woken and sent into work. But instead, he was left alone.

The kitchen table was empty save for two things. Euphemia's favorite vase, overflowing with blue hyacinths and blue irises, and a letter addressed to the both of them.

Dear Remus and Sirius,

I've had to leave for reasons that are my own. While I'm gone, be good boys and keep to these simple rules:

Don't burn the house down. Please. I'd like to keep it.

Water my cacti, I promised Lily I'd keep these ones alive this time.

If you break something, replace it or fix it before I find out.

Stay safe.

Always take the time for a coffee. Or tea, if you must.

Have faith in each other.

Everything is going to be okay. I love you both so much.

Fae

Everything was not okay. Sirius had collapsed in shock while Remus tore apart the house, desperate to confirm it wasn't true. Two minutes later, he was tearing down the driveway in the station wagon, going to Lucrecia's, the print store, the ministry, the library, anywhere he could think of, asking if they'd seen her. Sirius knew he wouldn't find her and Remus came back, alone, sometime after midnight, only to tear through the woods. Lucrecia hadn't seen her since yesterday and the guys at the print store informed Remus that Fae had quit three days ago.

The next day, Remus was gone too. Driving towards Newquay to see if the western pack had seen her, and then to Yorkshire Park to see if Celeste knew anything, and then just driving mindlessly through Perth and across the sea to Dublin and searching for passage to France to see if maybe she was with Kent, except Kent had never told them specifically where he lived. Kent himself was nowhere to be found. Remus was going mad with worry, Sirius was convinced he'd search the whole country if he had to.

Which left Sirius alone when the first sighting of Fae reached him. The Netherlands. Found by two Death Eaters, both who were now in custody and essentially squibs. She'd tied them up and hung them by vines from a tree, chests carved with the words 'Catch This, Asshole', their wands snapped, and the nerve endings and magic receptors in their hands scorched to hell. Actually, he'd heard that Castillo Selwyn was missing her left hand entirely. It must've been something new Fae was trying out.

He'd written Remus right away and the werewolf had gone there immediately, but it was too late, she was already gone without a trace. And then again, she was in Paris. Another Death Eater captured, wand snapped, fingers burnt and squibbed while the other one hung dead and in bloody pieces, innards spelling out 'Nice Try'. It scared him. How was Voldemort finding her when they couldn't? It wasn't right.

Nothing was right. She was clearly doing fine and several members of the Order had begun to cheer her on and set-up a betting pool on where she'd be found next, and who she'd kill. There was a cork board dedicated to the photos of the Death Eaters she'd taken down. Photos that looked like she'd taken herself before giving to the local press, but he knew that quality, those angles. Romilly. It had to be Romilly. Even with Romilly at Fae's side, Sirius was terrified. Everybody thought Fae was some invincible hero. But she wasn't.

And then an ambush of five Death Eaters found her in Rome. The battle had seen mass destruction and a dragon destroying a large chunk of the Italian Ministry Headquarters and caused a mass panic, ending with her disappearing yet again. One Death Eater captured, one lived to escape and tell the tale, and the other three killed.

Which then brought her kill count to five total. Perseus Bellwether, Evan Rosier, Tiamet Reeves, Thomasin Manford.

And Regulus Black.

Sirius didn't know what to think or feel after that.

Remus reluctantly came home, unable to find her and realizing that the fastest connection to information on her would come from the Order and the tabs they were keeping on the Ministry of Magic. The second they heard of a sighting, they had a myriad of floo networks to take him there. Of course, that was when the sightings stopped and all news of Fae disappeared again. It was just like she said - if she didn't want to be found, they'd have no chance in hell of finding her. Of course, he'd never imagined that he, or even Remus, would ever be included in that.

And together, they waited at home, unsure of what to do next other than what Fae had said - look after each other and stay safe.

A/N: Fae is leading a merry chase, Romilly is sleigh-ing, and Regulus is letting it go. Peter is confused, James is MIA and cheerfully oblivious, Remus is a very sad boi, and Sirius is stepping up for MVP status.

Happy holidays - you ready for our lovely trio to go off on grand adventures together and get some horcruxes?