A/N: Thanks to everyone that reviewed. I'm sorry that I upset some of you by threatening to withhold the next chapter. In truth as long as people keep reviewing I'll keep posting. Everyone's reviews were really positive, and I thank all of you so much. I'm going to be posting some other stories some time in the near future, so please be sure to read them as well, and now on to the next part of our saga.
Robert
sat back in a chair in the well-furnished office of Professor Severus
Snape. He had refused to stay in the
cold classroom. In truth he was only
trying to be difficult. It was better
that they think him rude and fear him, than try to understand him the way
Relena did. He had also refused to
leave Relena out there alone, but that was personal, and he had refused to
explain anymore than he had already said. Oh! How he had relished the look
in that other werewolf's eyes when Snape had asked him why.
"Why does she have to stay with
you? I think it's quiet obvious that
she isn't a harm to anyone." Snape had
said this as if he had known that whatever protests he made would be
useless. Robert admired him for
that. The man knew his dark creatures,
but had no fear for them what so ever. Perhaps that was why Relena had admired him so much. It made Robert admire him to even though he
was a slimy little git.
"Because she is mine." That was all Robert would reply with. He had no clue who the other werewolf
was. Probably that Remus Lupin chap
whom Relena had been so intent on finding when that little French girl showed
up. All Robert knew was that he had
struck some kind of nerve in the wolf, and he had enjoyed it because it showed
that this man had no control over Relena and, he knew it.
Robert had picked her up in his arms
with no effort at all, and carried her into the office where he had laid her on
a couch under the window. She would
sleep for hours. She would dream. He hadn't read her dreams in a long time,
and if they had been alone he may have done it, but they were not alone. There were three other men in the room. One was Severus Snape, a greasy and rather
angry looking man. The second was the
werewolf who was very obviously male. If he was Remus Lupin then he would have questions, but they would have
to wait until morning when he was human again. He would have to ask Relena because Robert would be gone and most likely
asleep.
For a moment his thoughts drifted to the acts of
brave Miguel and beloved Spridal. They
had both gone with very little sleep for days. Miguel would most likely sleep in until the late afternoon the next
day. Robert really did appreciate the
man's help even if he was one of the most dangerous Hunters in existence. Miguel had always treated both Relena and
Spridal like they were his sisters. He
would do anything to protect them. Now,
Spridal, she was a troublemaker, and it had been months since she had been so
close to the very raw essence of magic that could be found in the forest
outside this castle. She would probably
wake early, but leave the castle and spend the rest of the day in the forest
talking to other sprits, centaurs, and the like.
Finally, Robert forced himself to return to the
matter at hand. The old man was staring
at him from across the room. It took
Robert a minute to search his mid, but he eventually found what he was looking
for, the old man's name.
"Well, Professor Dumbledore," Robert said with a
sneer feeling like he had the upper hand, "I imagine that there are some
questions you would like to ask me."
"Yes there are," he replied patting the top of the
werewolf's head. He was sitting in a
chair across from Robert, while Snape sat in a chair to his side. "First, I think we need to know just exactly
who you all are, and if you don't mind what you all are. You must understand that even for this
school, things like this do not happen all of the time. I hope you understand."
"Of course, Professor, I shall tell you all that I
can, although I must admit that there are some aspects of our mission here that
only my beloved wolf child over there knows." Robert couldn't help but smile as he saw a look of anger fill the
werewolf's eyes. Why do I enjoy
torturing this man so?
"First, I will start with Ms. Delacour, although I'm
not really sure what has become of her-"
"We already know all about her," hissed Snape.
"Oh. Very well," Robert tried to recover, "Then I
guess it is only fair to start with myself. My name is Sir Robert Thomas. I
was born in 1601 on a small farm just south of present day Stratford. When I was Thirty-two years old I was bitten
by a vampire, and became as you see me today. I am one of the undead; a trait that I hope has not missed your
attention. I have an unusually strong
will and have managed to "kick" the vampire habit of drinking human blood. I tend to feed on cows and pigs
instead. The tall, rather muscular
Australian is Miguel Darkhunter one of the most feared Hunters in the entire
world. Traveling with him has afforded
me a certain amount of protection due mainly to the fact that no one would
think to look for a vampire traveling with a Hunter. It is unfortunately his only magical gift, but he uses it
well. The little girl is my daughter
Spridal. She is only one hundred and
ten years old quiet young by sprit standards. I adopted her ninety years ago after saving her from a pack of
grims. Not that she really needed
saving, just someone to look out for her until she grew. Finally," Robert gestured his head to
indicate the sleeping Relena, "She is my Relena. Since you all seem to know her, or so I gathered from Spridal's
account of the events that had occurred concerning her mother, I am sorry to
report that you may know more about her earlier life than I. We only meet four years ago, and we have
always shared a unbroken rule not to pry into each others' pasts." Dumbledore seemed to consider this
information for a minute before turning his gaze away from Relena and back to
Robert.
"Sir Robert," he began, "I can't help but wonder why
you are here, and why Relena seems so obsessed with seeing Professor Lupin. Could you tell us anything you might know?"
Robert sighed. "All right here it goes. About
three months after we meet I found out that Relena was in fact a member of the
Dark Creature Underground, a group so secretive that I doubt most wizards have
even contemplated its existence. She
and Miguel were partners. They always
set them in pairs of twos. There is
always one Tracker or researcher whose job it is to study and try to understand
the creature, and there is always one Hunter whose job id to act as a type of
bodyguard for the Tracker. The Hunters
do the killing not the Trackers, at least that's how it's supposed to work in
theory."
"So Relena never kilt any creature?" Snape
interrupted. "She never harmed any dark
creature?" There was a pain in Snape's
eyes that revealed it all. He had
pushed her out of his life because he had thought her a murderer. Now this Robert couldn't and wouldn't stand
for!
"Not on purpose. Not in cold blood if that's what you mean. So that's why she hates you so much. You helped her get into that damn fools society and then
abandoned her there once you found out the Hunters were involved. There's no use in denying it. I can read your mind. I can see what you see, and I can remember
what you remember. It's in the past. I'm not hurt, but I think you owe something
to Relena." His gaze once again drifted
over to his sleeping wolf.
"Oh, but please don't fool yourselves. She can really kick some arse when the need
strikes her. Killed a very powerful
vampire just last night, and only has a few scratches on the arm to show for
it. She's a tuff one she is. So, back to my story. Like I said I didn't know much about her
past. I knew that she had had a few
friends abandon her, and that until Spridal and I came along Miguel was her
only real friend. For about four years
now she's been traveling around, living her life with Miguel, Spridal, and I as
her only family, but a bout two months ago all of that changed. I can still remember that it was
raining. We had all gathered in the
flat that Relena and Miguel shared in Liverpool. Miguel was sitting down at the desk looking through some field
notes. Relena and I were sprawled out
on the couch watching a film on the tele, and Spridal was talking to herself
although it was probably some other sprit that I was to comfortable to
sense. I was stroking Relena's hair and
dozing off into sleep when suddenly there was a wrapping at the door. I tiered to push the sleeping body of Relena
off my lap so that I could answer it, but by the time I had managed to wake her
up Miguel had already gotten there. At
first all Relena and I heard were some mumbled words from the foyer, but soon
Miguel repapered accompanied by that Delacour woman. She smiled one of those evil veela smiles at us before she began
to speak to Relena. She told her that
the quest was over. That she knew where
to find this fellow by the name of Remus Lupin, and Relena nearly jumped with joy. She ran over to the desk, which was
cluttered with notes, and pulled, out one of her huge leather bound
journals. She read through a few pages,
and then asked Delacour when they could begin looking. Fleur replied right away, and was
immediately accepted as one of our number. Before I went to rest that day I asked her what had excited her so
deeply. All she said was 'I found my
second chance.' Then she kissed me on
the cheek, and the next night we left to try and track Professor Lupin. She never did tell me why we were looking
for him, but I guess I always figured she'd tell me when the time was right,
and that is in truth all I know." Dumbledore and Snape stared at each other for a minute each one trying
to read the others gaze.
"Yes," Dumbledore replied after about ten minutes,
"Well, I think that there are quiet a few questions that we shall have to ask
Miss. Relena when she wakes up, but for now let her sleep."
"How long will she sleep?" Snape inquired
cautiously.
"Oh, she'll be human again before she awakes, which
means I'll have to leave her without knowing who is watching her. I do suggest that you make sure someone who
is well acquainted with the symptoms of being a werewolf. Perhaps who ever this Professor Lupin is
will fit the job. That I will leave in
your capable hands, but for now I will watch her, if you will only give us a
room to stay in." For a moment Snape's
eyebrows popped up above hairline in surprise. "Oh, don't worry Professors. I
have no intentions of remaining one the school grounds during the days, and
since currently I have business elsewhere I shan't be here most nights
either. I would just like a room for
Relena to sleep in, and for her and I to share when I am here." With that Dumbledore sighed, the werewolf
growled, and Snape looked at Robert quizzically. Robert picked up Relena once more and followed the Professors out
of the office, and to Relena's room.
"Harry!" Ron yelled as he entered the Gryffindor
common room. He and Hermione had only
noticed that Harry was missing an hour after they had left the entrance
hall.
"What happened to you?" inquired Hermione. She looked worried and Harry felt bad about
that.
"I followed the professors down to Snape's
office. Hermione, Ron, you'll never
understand what happened down there. I
don't even understand it myself." It
took him an hour to recount the entire chain of events. He made sure to mention Relena changing into
a werewolf, the appetence of Robert, and the way that both of them ha been able
to see through his invisibility cloak.
"The weird thing is that Relena knew my dad. She thought I was him. It just doesn't make sense." Harry finished.
"Hmm," Hermione said bit on her lower lip, thinking,
"Harry that's not the thing I find strangest. If Relena is a werewolf then why is she also a Hunter? It doesn't make sense."
"All right, that's it," Harry yelled, "Hermione what
is a Hunter?" Hermione looked at
Ron. Her eyes were pleading for him to
explain.
"Harry," he sighed, "Hunters track down magical
creatures, specifically creatures related to the dark arts. Then, they do just as their name says, and
they hunt them. Eventually, once the
hunting becomes boring, they kill them." The look of shock that filled Harry's face showed that he was now truly
afraid for Professor Lupin's life.
Only two rooms down from mine. Remus had to ponder their decision to keep
Relena so close to him. They probably
figured that the closer the two were the less chance they had of ripping out
someone's throat.
He locked the door to his own room and started down
the hall. Dumbledore had decided that
he should watch Relena once Robert left. He was pretty sure that the professor had no knowledge of his
relationship with Relena, and although Severus gave him a scolding look he had
agreed. He stopped in front of her door
and braced himself. She wouldn't be happy
to see him, but as the vampire said someone had to take care of her until she
awoke.
With a slight hesitation Remus pushed open the
door. They had given her a nice
room. It had a large wardrobe in one
corner, a massive canopy bed, and a door that lead to a private bathroom. Remus looked over to the bed that sat on a
raised platform in the middle of the room. On it laid Relena although she still looked like a wolf. He stared at her for a minute before a noise
behind him forced him to turn around. When
he did there was no one there. Remus
shut the door to find Robert standing behind it glaring at him with a sneer on
his pale lips.
"So you must be the famous Professor Lupin. It is nice to see you when you are a bit
less fury." Robert laughed. "So, professor, what is it that you do?"
"I'm the resident Defense Against the Dark Arts
teacher."
"Oh. So you
teach people how to defend themselves from you. I find that very amusing. I leave Relena in your care for two reasons. One, because I have the feeling that she has been looking for you
for a very long time, and two, because you are the only person in this entire
school who knows anything about what she is." Then Robert turned on his heel and marched out the door-leaving Lupin
alone with Relena.
Tentatively, Remus approached the bed. She was lying on it with the blanket pulled
up to her chin. Her white wolf's coat
was gleaming in the moonlight. Lupin
could see where places on her wolf body began to match the same on her human
body. She had the same nose that was
slightly too long to be considered perfect. Her mouth was set in a grim line of determination, and her face was
contorted as if she was having a nightmare.
As Lupin knelt at her side, she began to move. At first he was scarred that she might wake
up and see him, but then he noticed it. Out the window that sun was coming up. She was changing into a human again. It had been a long time since Remus had seen another werewolf change
back. Over the years he had managed to
make it so that he could become human again before the sun came up, but he had
never been more grateful for it then he was now. He watched as Relena's body went ridged before relaxing and
slowly melting back into her human appearance. She was just as beautiful as he remembered her. She looked older of course, but now that her
face was no longer contorted with pain he could see the little girl from
Godric's Hallow who had taken such pity on him in his younger years. Her face still seemed to be struggling as if
she were trapped in some horrible nightmare. Lupin looked at her form hidden under the blankets. With a shock he realized that she was naked,
her other clothes having fallen off last night during her transformation. She wouldn't be happy at all when she woke to
find herself naked in a strange place. She might even assume the worst if she was still the same woman Lupin
had known all those years ago.
Resolving that it was best not to move her, Lupin
let his eyes traveled down to her arm. It was wrapped in a bandage that was stained red with blood. Walking away from the bed, Remus opened her
bag which had been thrown in a near by chair. The gun was gone. Miguel had
taken it with him. But the first aid kit was sitting on top of a very heavy
looking leather notebook. Picking it up
Remus returned to the sleeping girls side. Gently he removed the bloody bandages to reveal three gigantic tears in
the upper arm. Vampire nails! It was obvious as to the cause of these
marks. Who ever this Robert fellow
thought he was he was certainly no doctor. These could become infected, and kill her. Pulling some healing salves from the first aid kit, Remus
rewrapped her wounds, and then used some magic to help the wound heal. He would insist that she visit Madame
Pomfrey as soon as she was strong enough.
As Remus stood to put the kit away something grabbed
his hand. He turned a bit startled to
find that Relena had grabbed him in her sleep. Quietly, he put the kit down on the nightstand. He held her hand gently as he tried to pull
it off of his arm, but Relena's grip was much stronger than it had been years
ago.
"Don't leave. The cold comes when no one's here," she mumbled in her dreams,
"Besides," she said with an ironic smile, "you smell nice." Anyone else would have thought here very
strange, but Remus knew how important a compliment it was. Werewolves' most powerful senses were those
of sight and smell. Remus didn't want
to leave her, but he couldn't just stand there while she grasped his arm. As slowly as he could he lowered himself
onto the massive bed. She wiggled to
the side as if she knew that someone else was there, but made no move to let go
of his arm. Once he was lying on the bed,
he moved to propped himself into a sitting position against the pillows.
For three hours Remus sat there watching her. He wondered about so many things while she
slept. He wondered what she was
dreaming about because her face kept contorting into obvious rage, and then
settling into cute little flirtatious smiles. He wondered where she had been all these years. He wondered what her story would be when she
awoke. Was she in love with this Robert
fellow? Or was he just displaying one
of a vampires more annoying traits? Possessiveness. Why did Spridal
call her mother? How did Miguel know
about Snape? Who else knew? What did they know about him? But most importantly, why had she left him
so long ago?
Suddenly, Lupin felt her weight shift onto him. He saw that she had wrapped her soft naked
arms around his waist, and now seemed to be just enjoying the sent of him. He heard her take a sharp, deep breath, and
squirm closer to him. He ran a hand
through her long brown and gray hair.
"Mmm,' she moaned, it as the first sign of her
waking up. "Remus," she muttered before
locking her arms around him even tighter, and kissing his stomach through his
shirt. She began to relax against him
once again, and Remus resumed running his hand through her hair.
Suddenly, she jumped pushing Remus away from
her. Her eyes were a mixture of shock
and rage. Remus suddenly realized that
she must have thought he was a dream or something. She looked at him with her beautiful brown eyes full of anger and
rage before turning on him.
"WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" These words were screamed so loud that Remus
was a bit grateful that these rooms were in a more or less abandoned part of
the school.
"Relena," Remus began calmly, "I beg you to remain
calm. You transformed without
Wolfsbane, and I somehow doubt that that was an enjoyable experience for
you. One of your friends, Robert I
believe, did something to you and you feel asleep. They couldn't leave you on the classroom floor so they brought you
here. Robert stayed with you all night,
but had to leave before dawn." Remus
wasn't quite sure what to make of the expression n her face. She didn't seem anger any more, but she
just seemed to be thinking. Yes, she
was defiantly thinking Remus decided as he watched her brow wrinkle in
recognition of something.
"I remember," she said trying to sound sure of
herself, "I came to the castle. I need
to find someone it's very important that I see them right away."
"Yes, Relena, I know. You came here with a mission."
"Remus? Remus Lupin?" She had recognized
him. The game was up he was
caught. Slowly nodded his head. Then he waited for what felt like an
eternity until she responded.
"Remus," she whispered leaning forward to touch his
face as if she didn't think he was real. He closed his eyes as her soft fingers touched the smooth, shaved skin
on his check. He could feel her melting
into him. She was trying to tell him
something, but what was it. Suddenly,
Remus heard her gasp.
"How dare you!" she screamed slapping him across the
face. Remus opened his eyes to realize
that the sheet that had been wrapped around Relena's body had fallen off when
she leaned to touch him. She was now
trying to cover herself back up with what blanket he wasn't sitting on.
"You have some nerve Remus! Despite what you might want to think I am a
proper lady who does not enjoy being undressed without her own knowledge! Now close you eyes!" Fearing her wrath Remus willingly
complied. He felt her weight shift as
she moved off the bed. Remus assumed
she was now completely naked since the blanket stayed on the bed with him.
"You know, Relena, nobody had to undress you. It's always that way when you transform, or
have you forgotten?"
"No, I haven't forgotten! How could I! Now keep
your eyes closed I'm almost done!"
"Why bother? It's nothing I haven't seen before." Remus was trying to make a joke, but from the silence that responded he
guessed that his female companion didn't find it nearly as amusing. After a few minutes of silence he felt her
weight shift back onto the bed.
"Alright," she sighed, "you can open your
eyes!" Slowly, Remus peaked out from
under his hands. What he saw amazed
him. Relena was clad in a long flowing
pink gown that made her seem to glow. The neckline was cut low, and Remus heard her chuckle as he looked at
her.
"Well," she said trying to fight the laughter that
he had provoked, "it isn't for your benefit anyway."
"Oh, I see," he teased, "It's for Robert benefit,
ne?"
"Robert?" she looked at him perplexed.
"Yes, Robert. You know very gothic looking chap with fangs."
"I know who Robert is, but why in heaven's name
would this be for his benefit?"
"Uh, well, last night he gave everyone the
impression that you were his lover. You
are right?" Remus tried to hide the
hurt he felt from his voice.
"We were," she now looked annoyed, "but that was a
long time ago. Spridal's the only thing
that makes me put up with him now. That
Bastard! How could he? What was he thinking?" She would have continued at this rage, but
stopped when Remus began laughing. "You
find the fact that he treats like an object funny?"
"No, it's just that I was the last person you ever
called that. It was your last name for
me before you left as I recall." Remus
felt on the verge of tears. He just
didn't understand her.
"Oh, Remus," she said once again stroking his cheek,
"I'm sorry I left, but you know that it was your fault too."
"HOW? HOW
WAS IT MY FAULT? ALL I EVER DID WAS
LOVE YOU AND TAKE CARE OF YOU!" Remus
felt his rage building. If he stayed
here he might hit her or worse. He
couldn't stand it if she pushed him away again. He would die if he thought he'd hurt her.
"That was always your tragic flaw," she
mumbled. Remus couldn't take it any
more. He turned away from her and
walked out the door. Once he left,
Relena felt very cold. She hadn't ever
wanted to come back here. She knew it
was her fault. She didn't even tell him
what had happened, why she had suddenly grown to fear him. He deserved to know. Her mind told her he deserved to know, but
her lips couldn't say it because to say it would be to forgive him. She would have to forgive him not only for
driving her away, but also for everything. Even the one thing that she had never been able to tell him she blamed
him for. The one thing he didn't even
know he had done to her.
AN: So what did you think? Like Relena's character? Interested in what the heck is up with her and Remus? Her and Severus? Her and Robert? Well, hold onto your hats because although this story gets a bit confusing in some parts things are not about to get easier for anyone around Hogwarts. My next chapter Friends and Lovers will be up soon.
Here's the soundtrack as promised:
Sound Track: For your enjoyment I am including a few songs that I think reflect the feeling of this story. Some of them might not make a lot of since until you are further into the story, but I garuntee you that they will make a heck of a lot more since by the end of the story:
1. Hunter by Dido
2. Crush by ?
3. Can't Fight the Moonlight by ?
This will probably have more songs added to it as the story progresses, but for now if you know who sings either of the two songs with a ? by them please tell me. Thanks. Bye.