AN: First, I have to apologize for the delay on this chapter. I meant to put it up over break, but due to a personal crisis and several papers that I was given to write at the last minute I was unable to do so. It was further delayed due to a broken leg that I managed to acquire shortly after break. I thank you, my readers, for not flooding my box with hate mail, and this chapter is one of the longest I have written yet.
All right, now that that is over with. Last time Lola and Ginny revealed to Relena that they knew her true identity. What will this information do to out beloved female werewolf? And what connection does one of the girls have that causes her to have a very strong resemblance to how Relena was during her childhood? All those questions and more will be answered in this chapter.
Also, Sirius Black does something stupid and we get to find out what kinds of dreams our lovable Hogwarts students have. Finally, I would like to congratulate Fantasy Queen for guessing who I modeled Filch after. It was Golum for The Hobbit. Remember how he always calls the ring "precious"? Well, Filch always reminded me of him for some reason.
It was hours later when Relena flopped down on her bed. She was exhausted. How did Severus do it? Teaching takes it out of you, she reminded herself. Too exhausted to keep her eyes open Relena fell asleep and drifted into dreams, dreams about a childhood changed by Bolt.
"Ouch! Severus let go of my arm!"
"No, Relena, listen to me! James friend, Remus, isn't normal!"
"Oh yeah, like you're one to talk! You just stole your father's broomstick and flew two miles to Godric's Hallow in the middle of the night, just to tell me that Remus 'isn't normal'!" the eleven-year-old girl hissed at her friend.
"I'm serious Relena. I know you. You'll want to know what's going on. For everyone's sake just stay away from your brother and his friends." There was a seriousness to the thirteen year old's eyes that gave Relena an ominous feeling, as if this was how her friend would one day live the rest of his life.
"All right, Severus, if you insist. I'll stay away from them. What the heck bothers you about them anyway?"
"I don't know. It's the way Lupin looks at people sometimes. He looks almost hungry." Relena giggled and leaned back against a tree. "I'm serious," Severus said crossing his arms over his chest, "He's always sick Relena. I'm going to find out what's wrong with him eventually, but until I do just stay way. Got it?"
"Got it," Relena said making a face, "Now go home! Your father will beat you with in an inch of your life if he finds out you came here this late at night and during a full moon. A vampire could have mistaken you for a friend and started up a conversation. Then what would you have done?"
"All right. No need to mother me. I have a mother to do that!" Severus said as he stood up and grabbed his broom, "I'll see you later Relena. Enjoy your summer. You start at Hogwarts this year right?"
"Only if it turns out I am an actual witch," she replied glumly.
"Please, Relena, you're the biggest witch I know!" Severus said with a sly smile.
"Thanks Severus…. Hey!" she yelled, but it was too late Severus had already left. "Stupid Severus, pulls me out here in the middle of the night just to tell me Remus 'isn't normal'," Relena whined as she trudged back to the house wrapping her cloak tight about her shoulders. She felt suddenly very alone now that Severus had left. Her mocking warnings to him about it being a full moon had been a jest to attempt to hide her own fears. A werewolf had been seen near the Hallow a month ago, and people were still on edge.
From behind her Relena heard a howl pierce the night calm, and only one thought came to her mind. RUN! She did run, as fast as she could, but it didn't matter.
The werewolf pounced in front of her. It was huge. In its human form it must have been a full-grown man, but that didn't concern her. Only the overwhelming fear that weighed down her feet was of concern to the small frightened girl. What should she do? Severus was probably too far away to hear her by now. Her parents were sound asleep. Her brother was gods know where. She had to do something, and she couldn't our run the beast, so she screamed.
"JAMES!" Her frightened voice pierced the night sky and echoed for what must have been miles. The wolf bared his teeth at her and began to stalk forward. Relena inched back slowly. Before she knew it she had backed into the wall. It stood on the side of the house her room was on. Relena glanced up and could see her bedroom window high above her head.
"JAMES! HELP ME! JAMES!" she cried again as she collapsed against the wall. He couldn't hear her, and she couldn't reach the window. The werewolf eyed her maliciously. He was going to bite her, and tear her to pieces, and in the off chance she survived she would be cursed. Oh god, even that would be better than dying. She had to run something, but she couldn't. She just sat there shaking.
The wolf looked at her curiously as if it had never seen a child before. It lasted only a moment, but in the wolf's stormy eyes a struggle was going on between man and beast. The man inside was fighting the beast that controlled him. Relena saw this and bolted. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her to the back door of the house.
Just a few more feet and she would make it, but her short legs wouldn't permit that. She felt a force slam against her. Felt a furry body crash into her, and send her flying across the field. The human inside that werewolf had lost. This time it would kill her and it wouldn't hesitate. It barred its teeth and Relena thought she was dead, when out of nowhere came another werewolf, which skidded to a halt in front of the frightened girl. It barred its teeth to the other.
Had Relena been the fainting type there was no doubt in her mind that she would have passed out then and there, but Relena wasn't the fainting type. She looked at the other werewolf with a mixture of curiosity and fear. It was smaller than the one that had attacked her, and it seemed to be younger too. Before Relena could reflect on this anymore she heard someone screaming her name.
"Relena! Relena!" James Potter cried as he ran over and wrapped his arms around his little sister. At that exact moment the smaller of the two werewolves, Relena's defender, sprang forward and bit the other. It yelped in pain and ran, but the little one chased it off into the night, and Relena said a silent prayer that he would be the victor. Then she began to cry. James rocked her back and forth in his arms trying to calm her, but it was to no avail.
"James," she whispered, "what just happened?"
"Relena, you were just attacked by a werewolf," he sighed.
"I know that, stupid, but what…who was the other one? Why did it let you get close to me? Hell, why did it defend me in the first place?"
"I'm not sure," James said with a shrug of his shoulders, "Maybe he likes you." He poked her in the shoulder.
"Ha ha, very funny," she said trying to sound sarcastic.
"Relena listen. You can't tell anyone what happened out here tonight."
"Why?" she shifted so that she was looking strait into her brother's eyes, "James I think I should tell mum and dad. If there's another werewolf running around…"
"Relena, just don't say anything. This town is freaking out over the fact that there is one werewolf somewhere near by. How do you think they'll react if they think there are two? Do you want them to call out the lynch mob on the one that just helped you?"
"James, you know you can't kill a werewolf by hanging them…"
"That's not my point," the boy sighed, "Just promise me you won't say anything to anybody. Not even mum and dad." Relena hesitated. "Relena please. This is important."
"Okay, James. Okay."
"Good. Now lets get you inside."
Relena could feel herself being lifted out of the dream. She felt something in the pit of her stomach, but all she wanted to do was ignore it. She was so tired, and she was dreaming about her protector again. Anything to know who that werewolf that had saved her had been. There goes that feeling in my stomach again, she thought, but the thought froze at the word stomach. Stomach! Weird feeling! Bolt!
Relena's eyes flung open and she let out a gut retching scream at the face that leered over her. The man with long, black hair pulled his head back covering his ears, and ran out of her room. Relena sat for only a second trying to catch her breath. It had been Sirius Black! In the castle! Oh shit, Harry!
Relena jumped out of bed. She grabbed a robe on her way out the door to cover the sweat pants and men's t-shirt she had been wearing as pajamas. The first thing she encountered was a large black dog. She recognized it as Remus' friend from the Quidditch match, but her mind didn't even stop to question its presence.
Running even faster than she had the night she had acquired Bolt, she reached the Gryffindor common room in a minute flat. She muttered the password and stepped through the portrait hole. The common room was deserted, which was no wonder since it was three in the morning.
Silently, Relena crept up to the sixth year boys' room. She pushed open the door, which squeaked loudly in protest. Relena flinched, but luckily the sound didn't wake any of the sleeping boys. She looked around before entering the room. There was no sign of Black anywhere. She slipped quietly into the room and looked at the beds with their closed hangings. Now, which one was Harry's? She went over to the bed closest to the door and pulled open the hangings. Inside she found a skinny blond boy who cried out Mummy while he slept. No, definitely not Harry.
Silently, Relena crept across the room to the bed across from the blond boys. Inside slept a tall boy with ash colored skin. Nope, not Harry either. Relena opened the hangings on the bed next to that boy to reveal Neville Longbottom lying with his sheets twisted around him an almost to innocent look on his face, but still no Harry.
Relena closed Neville's hangings and moved to the next bed in which she found Ron mumbling something about the Cuddly Canyons. Suppressing a giggle, Relena moved on to the final bed. She pulled back the hangings slowly, remembering how light a sleeper Lily had been, and there was Harry. His glasses were gone and his hair was in even more disarray than it usually was, but he looked so young. For Relena it was like she was looking at him when he was a baby, perhaps on the day that she had told Lily that Harry was hers and Lily would just have to go make another. Relena could have stood there all night watching him, but she didn't. It was now painfully clear that Sirius Black was not in Harry's room and probably not even in the castle.
Relena left the boys room and managed to close the door without it squeaking. She was about to leave the tower when the urge struck her to make sure that Black was not hiding in any of the other dormitories. Relena spent the next hour going into each room to check on the students. Among the sleeping students, she found Lola who had her arms wrapped around a pillow and keep mumbling the name George often followed by "I'm gong to hit you with this bludger." She found Hermione and the other sixth year girls, and found Lavender giggling in her sleep and mumbling "Mrs. Lavender Longbottom." Hermione on the other hand kept yelling out things about her grades. From what Relena could gather about the dream it sounded more like a nightmare.
Finally, Relena walked into the fifth year girls' room. She wasn't sure why she had saved this room for last, but as she opened the door she was glad she did.
Most of the girls were sleeping peacefully; in fact, all of them were except for Ginny. Her hangings had been pushed open and she was tossing and turning in her sleep. Relena approached the younger girl. She knelt by the edge of Ginny's bed, and heard the girl screaming out "Tom, why did you do this to me Tom? I thought you were my friend." Tom? Tom? Tom and Ginny? Where had she heard that name before? Relena's mind skipped to another Weasley at that moment, Arthur. Arthur had said something about Ginny being attacked by some kind of book. A book that was in habited by the spirit of a boy named…? What was his name? Could it be Tom? Tom Marvoloe Riddle. As realization dawned on Relena she gasped. This Tom must be Tom Riddle, Voldemort.
Quietly, she used a cool hand to push Ginny's hair off of her sweat soaked face. "Shh, Ginny. It's okay. He's not here. He can't hurt you," she soothed. Ginny whimpered, but stopped shouting. Slowly, the little girl opened her eyes.
"Relena?" she whispered.
"It's all right. I'm here."
"I had a horrible dream. Oh, it was just awful!" the young witch cried. Relena pulled the redhead into her arms and rocked her back and forth.
"Ginny?" she said after a while. The little girl looked up at her. "Would you come with me?" For a moment Ginny looked confused, but eventually she nodded her head yes and slid out of Relena's grasp. Relena sat on the bed watching as Ginny dug around in her trunk looking for a robe to put over her pajamas.
When Ginny finally found her misplaced robe under her bed, she and Relena crept silently back to Relena's room. They said nothing to one another. In fact neither uttered a word until they came across a big black dog sitting outside Relena's room. They both paused to look at it for a moment.
"Has Remus locked you out?" Relena asked the dog with an exasperated sigh. Of course the dog didn't answer. "Some things never change. All right, well I can't leave you out here. Filch might see you. So come on you can spend the night in my room," Relena said using some curious gestures that the dog seemed to understand.
"Quidditch," Relena yawned, and the portrait covering her private rooms opened. Silently, she stepped inside, the dog and finally Ginny following. Ginny looked around Relena's room when they entered. She had never been inside a teacher's room before and was amazed by how normal it looked.
"Ginny go ahead and take a seat," Relena said motioning over to the big armchairs that sat in front of the fire. "You," Relena said pointing at the dog, "follow me." Relena lead the dog into the bathroom, and locked the door behind it. "I'm not sure if he's house trained, but knowing the kind of company Remus keeps, he probably isn't," the professor laughed. Ginny responded with a laugh that sounded sort and nervous eve to her own ears.
"Ginny what were you dreaming about?" Relena questioned with sad, serious eyes. Ginny tensed at little. "All right. I know this might be hard for you, but I need to know. It's important, so we'll take it slowly," Relena said leaning over a cauldron that sat bubbling over the fireplace. "Tea?" she asked. Ginny nodded her head yes. With a calm careful slowness, Relena made cups of tea for herself and Ginny. Once they were both situated comfortably in their chairs, Relena resumed her questioning.
"Ginny, I need you to tell me," Relena insisted.
"Please," Ginny whispered, "Don't make me relive it again."
"How can I make you trust me?" There was desperation in the older woman's voice. "All right. Let's do it this way. You tell me what happened, what you were dreaming about, and I'll let you asked me as many questions as you can before you have to leave, all of which I will answer truthfully. Will that do?"
Ginny was going to answer no, but for some reason the professor's offer intrigued her. She couldn't explain why, but she trusted the older woman, and before Ginny knew it she was pouring out the entire story. Relena sat calmly as Ginny told her about her first year, how she had felt so alone, how she had encountered Tom, and how he had befriended her when no one else would. The whole time Relena sat there listening without saying a word. She seemed to be thinking about everything Ginny had said, and her face held an expression of kindness that Ginny had often seen on Professor Lupin.
"And then nobody said anything else about it. It was kind of like 'get over it Ginny'. You know, what's done is done," Ginny said finally. Relena sat there silently for only a moment longer.
"Ginny," Relena said breaking her revive, "it's all right that you aren't over it yet. You had a near death encounter with not only a dangerous dark creature, but also with Voldemort himself. That changes a person, and that is why I wanted to talk to you. Ginny what do you feel when you are around dark creatures?"
"I'm not sure I understand…"
"When the dementors came during your second year, how did you feel when you were around them?"
"I felt the same way everyone else did, except it was a little worse. I didn't tell anyone at the time, but if Professor Lupin hadn't stopped them on the train both Harry and I would have fainted." Relena gasped. "You mean you didn't know? You didn't know that Harry couldn't stand to be around the dementors?"
"I had suspected it, but I never figured it would be to that magnitude. But that still doesn't answer my question. Ginny when you are in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, can you ever feel when Professor Lupin is going to bring out a dark creature that day?" Ginny's eyes grew wide.
"Yes, but how did you…how could you…. how did you know?" Relena let out a sort laugh.
"Ginny for a very smart girl, you do miss an awful lot. That feeling you get that tells you when he is going to bring out a dark creature, that intensity that the dementors have over you, that feeling is Bolt, and unless I very much mistaken, I would wager that it is a result of your encounter with Lord Voldemort when you were a first year that has triggered it." For a moment Ginny sat shocked. She had thought that she had escaped the attack unscathed. She thought that one day the dreams would end and it would all be behind her, but now she could never be normal.
"No," Ginny sobbed, "Oh God, no. I'm a freak. I thought… I thought that just maybe I could be normal some day, but now…."
"Ginny," the older witch sighed as she put down her tea and knelt on the floor, "you are not a freak. Bolt is a gift. It might not seem that way now, but it is. Ginny, so many witches and wizards have Bolt that it's almost common place."
"Oh yeah, name three," the sobbing girl demanded.
"Well, Professor Dumbledore has it, and I have it, and from all accounts Harry has it to." At the mention of Harry, Ginny stopped crying.
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked with a curious glance.
"He has all of the signs. He has violent reactions to dementors, he knew that something was wrong with me the moment he laid eyes on me, and, Ginny, he knows how to defend himself from things by instinct, not from years of training like Miguel, but form pure instinct. Add that to a family history and an obvious trigger, and you get 100 percent Bolt guaranteed Potter," Relena said easing back into her chair.
"How…how do you get this?" Ginny stammered.
"Well, people with magical blood in them sometimes receive it at birth. You know children of elf/human couples or intelligent magical species, like Spridal. The way that you, and Harry, and I have acquired ours is much more common. It is brought on by a childhood exposure to a very powerful dark creature presence. For you it would have been the encounter with Tom Riddle and the Baslik, and for Harry it would have been the night his parents died."
"What about you?" Ginny questioned.
"Hmm," Relena said as if she had just been pulled from a daydream.
"When did you get Bolt? You said I could ask you whatever I wanted."
"Yes, I did, didn't I? I was probably eleven. It all happened right before I came to Hogwarts. I was foolish enough to go outside on the night of the full moon when there had been reports of werewolf sightings all over the place. As luck would have it, I encountered a werewolf, and I thought that I would be bitten for sure. Only a few other times in my life have I ever experienced the type of terror that passed through me that night, but as luck would have it another werewolf defended me and kept me safe until my brother was able to protect me, but all the same the Bolt was still there. It showed up almost a week later. I didn't know what it was at the time which is a shame because had I learned how to focus that power more, I may have been more help when Voldemort was floating around later."
"Well, that explains something I was wondering about. I'm not sure if you noticed Professor, but your Patronus looks just like a wolf."
"Yes, I know. I call him my furry defender. I do seem to have an affinity for wolves," Relena laughed. Then Ginny looked at her again thoughtfully.
"So who else has Bolt?" Ginny questioned. Maybe one of them would be able to help her with it.
"Well, lets see. I know hundreds of people with Bolt. In fact, it is almost impossible to join the Dark Creature Underground if you don't have it. Well, you know that I have it and Harry doesn't know it yet, but I suspect he has it also. Spridal has it through the magic blood that runs through her veins. Remus...um…I mean Professor Lupin has it probably from his own unfortunate encounter with a werewolf when he was very young. That makes it very hard for him. The younger you get Bolt the stronger it tends to be. So since Harry acquired his as a baby it might become unbearable for him once he gets older. Dumbledore on the other hand did not acquire his until he was forced to defeat Grindwald, and he was nearly thirty by then, so his is relatively mild. You and I would probably fall somewhere in the middle of the scale. Who else has it? Oh, how could I forget, Professor Snape?" Ginny's jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Snape?" she asked. A connection between herself and Harry's aunt she would have enjoyed, but anything that linked her with Professor Snape had to be a curse. Relena laughed.
"Yes, Severus Snape. His Bolt is the result of a most unfortunate event that transpired between he and Remus during their fifth year. That probably isn't all, but the rest are most likely students like you. All right, Ginny, one more question and then you have to go get ready for class it's almost six thirty." Ginny thought for a moment. The next question she asked would be her last of the night, and she may not ever get into this situation again. Suddenly, her mind pulled her back to something the professor had said earlier that evening.
"I can ask you anything?"
"Yes."
"And you promise to tell the truth?"
"On my word as a Gryffindor."
"Professor, what did Harry sense was wrong with you?" Belatedly, Relena realized that she had let that little detail slip. Nervously, she bit her lip.
"Ginny, I can tell you, but you can't tell anyone."
"I promise!" Ginny replied without thinking.
"Ginny, I'm a werewolf," Relena confessed. Of all the things Ginny though she was going to say being a werewolf was certainly not one of them.
"I thought you said that you weren't bitten by that werewolf when you were eleven."
"I wasn't. I was bitten by a werewolf after James and Lily died."
"Oh, so, who bit you?" Relena smiled at the other girl.
"Ginny, I can't answer that. You've already asked all of your questions, and it's time you headed back to the Gryffindor tower. You'll have to be ready for class soon." Ginny felt downtrodden.
"All right, Professor," she sighed as she stood up and placed her teacup onto the small table sitting next to her. She walked over to the door.
"Oh, Ginny, wait!" Relena called, as Ginny was about to leave.
"Yes, Professor?" Ginny said sticking her head back into the room.
"What class do you have during the time that your brother takes Combating the Dark Arts?" Relena asked. Ginny looked at her confused for a minute.
"I don't have a class then, usually. I usually sit in on Lola's advanced Arithmacy class. Why?"
"If you want you could come to Combating the Dark Arts when your brother does. I could help you work with your Bolt then. If you want." Ginny's heart nearly leaped out of her chest.
"Really? That would be great! Thank you, Professor!" Ginny was about to leave when Relena called her again.
"Here, Ginny, take this!" she said throwing Ginny a ball of silvery waded up material. "It's an invisibility cloak. You can bring it back to me during class this afternoon. You wouldn't want any Slytherins to catch you in your pajamas, now would you?" Relena smiled, and to Ginny the whole room seemed to smile with her. Harry was lucky to have such an aunt.
"Thank you very much," Ginny said as she pulled the cloak over her shoulders. She felt a slight tingling at the back of her neck, and she was invisible. She waved goodbye to the Professor, who did not return the gesture since she did not see the girl, and left the room.
Relena sighed. What am I going to do with all of you, she thought to herself. Relena didn't have class first thing in the morning, luckily, so she took the time to sit and write in the notebook she kept about Bolt sufferers, adding Ginny to the list. She had been trying for months now to discern why she hadn't been able to sense that Remus was a werewolf when she was little. Her own growing knowledge of the Bolt that existed in her veins had grown substantially after joining the DCU, but there were still things that nobody seemed to know.
A scratching at the door interrupted Relena's thoughts. Suddenly, she remembered the presence of the black dog in the bathroom. Sighing, Relena stood up, put down her notebook, and walked over to the source of the noise. She opened the door and immediately a huge mass of black fur jumped out at her. The dog knocked her to the ground and began licking her face.
"All right. All right. That's enough," she scolded, putting her hand in front of her face to block the dog's wet tongue. As if it understood her, the dog got off of the annoyed witch. "Affectionate little, I mean, big guy. Aren't you?" Relena asked as she used her sleeve to dry her face. Surprisingly, the dog seemed to nod its head yes. "Well, since you seem to be a friend of Remus' I guess I should get you back to him, huh?" Relena walked over to her dresser and pulled out a bra, shirt, pair of underwear, and jeans.
Quickly, Relena slipped off her bathrobe and threw it on her bed. She was unbuttoning her shirt when she heard a loud thump. She looked up from the buttons that had occupied her attention only moments before, and noticed that the dog had gone missing. For a moment she panicked. Who knew what it might be doing? Her nerves settled once she saw a long black tail sticking out from under the hangings on the end of her bed. Relena gave a relief filled sigh.
"I'm not that bad looking, you stupid mutt," she commented as she finished dressing. That accomplished Relena walked over to her closet and pulled out a pair of dark blue, scholarly looking robes, and slipped them over her shoulders. "All right, Dog, I'm dressed now. You can come out," she called as she fastened the links that held her robe shut. On command, the dog poked its head out from under the bed, and walked over to her.
Relena walked to the door and opened it. "After you, Oh Dark One," she said to the dog in a mocking tone. It gave her an exasperated look before trotting through the portal. Sighing, Relena followed and shut the door behind them.
"First stop, Remus' room. Sorry, pup, but I can't hold onto you all day," Relena announced before walking down the hall to Remus' door which was hidden behind a portrait of a grim. "He chose that because of you?" Relena asked looking down at the dog, which merely shrugged at her, or at least, it looked like a shrug.
The grim in the portrait began to bark at them. "Oh, hush up! I just want to see Remus!" The grim grunted and shook its head "no". "Is he not here?" The dog shook its head "yes". "Fine," Relena sighed. She looked down at the black dog by her side. "Well, come on. I missed breakfast, so you'd better hope there's something in the teachers' lounge. I'm starving." With that she led the dog through the corridors of the school. It was amazingly quiet when classes were in session. All of the students were hard at study, except for a few who were running errands. One or two of them took her class and they waved as they passed, but the rest were first, second, and maybe one third year, all of whom gave her a curious glance as she walked by with the black dog at her side. She reached the door to the teachers lounge and could smell the sent of tea wafting through the door. Yes, tea would make a nice breakfast. Relena rarely ate anything in the mornings, but she was really hungry for some reason today.
Quietly, Relena pushed the door open. She was greeted by the sight of Remus and Miguel sitting mulling over some notes together. She watched them for a few moments in silence. They both looked so calm. You would never know how extreme their personalities could be by looking at them in that moment. Miguel looked like he actually knew what he was teaching, which wasn't a surprise because in truth he did, and Remus. Relena couldn't take her eyes off of the man she had once thought to call mate. He was so quiet, but then he had always been that way, especially after Lily and James died. It was only in moments when he felt threatened or felt that someone he cared about was threatened did he ever lash out, but when he did you had best hope that you were nowhere near him. To Relena he was the best friend her brother ever had, and James had probably been the best friend Remus ever had. Peter had always been a tagalong, and Sirius was a traitor to all of them.
Suddenly, the dog at Relena's side let out a large bark breaking her train of thought and attracting the attention of the two other men to where she stood. Miguel looked up at her and smiled. Remus glanced from the dog to Relena and then back again. Relena smiled at the perplexed and almost concerned look on his face.
"You know Remus," Relena said opening the door wider and entering the room, dog in tow, "you should really be more careful about letting him back in your rooms at night. What would you have done if Filch had found him instead of me?"
"Oh, well, yes, I suppose you're right," Remus stuttered and the dog walked over to him to receive a pat on the head. "I'll be more careful Relena."
"Good. Very polite that dog. He wouldn't even watch me change into my robes this morning; hid under the bed the entire time." Remus started at the dog incredulously in that moment. Relena was beginning to worry about him. "Remus? Remus, are you all right?" she asked and kicked herself mentally for sounding so concerned.
"What?" said Remus, shaking his head in a way that reminded Relena of a very confused little puppy. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. Just a little confused this morning. I was up all night worried about this mutt. Don't you ever pull that stunt again, Snuffles," he said giving the dog a pat on the head.
"You named your dog Suffles?" Relena asked trying to shake off the feeling that there was something he wasn't telling her.
"Actually, he named himself," Remus replied. Deciding it was best not to ask, Relena turned her attention away from Remus and stopped to look around the room. It was sparsely decorated. A round wooden table sat in the center surrounded by some chairs charmed to be comfortable. Other than that the room contained nothing more than a large bookcase and an old couch to one side.
Suddenly, Relena saw it, a teapot sitting in the center of the table. "Is there tea in there?" she asked.
Remus looked up from some of his papers, "Yes, there is. You're welcome to it if you would like some."
"Thanks," Relena said. She grabbed a coffee mug off of the table and used a quick-clean spell on it before filling it with tea. Relena took a long relaxing sip before sitting down on the couch. The dog brought his head up to sit on her knee, and with a slight laugh she scratched him behind the ears.
"Remus?" He did not answer. Either he was ignoring her or he didn't hear her, either way it was very annoying.
"Remus?" Still no answer. He was totally engrossed in his work.
"Remus, I'm having Professor Dumbledore's baby, and we're going to let Severus name it!" Relena said, still slightly annoyed.
"Oh, okay, that's nice," he replied, momentarily drifting out of his work, "Wait a minute. What did you say?" This time he looked up at her in confusion. Relena let out a low chuckle before taking another sip of tea.
"Nothing, I just wanted some attention," she replied with a smug grin of satisfaction. Remus rolled his eyes and returned to his work. Relena took another sip of tea and realized that it tasted familiar, like an old family recipe that she couldn't quite place. "Who made this?" she asked, this time addressing the question to Miguel. He looked at her for a moment then nodded his head toward Remus, who was still trying his best to ignore Relena and work on his lessons. "Oh," Relena mouthed. No wonder it had tasted familiar. Remus hadn't made her a cup of tea in ten years, but she still recognized his sugar spell that made it taste only as sweet as the person drinking it wanted it to be. Lazily, Relena began to scratch Snuffles behind the ear and continued sipping her tea and watching a certain brown haired werewolf sitting across from her.
AN: Hmm, interesting. So, apparently Relena's already met up with at least two werewolves in her lifetime and Severus, well, he's just being Severus.
Avalonians:
Singer: Hi. Yes George and Lola are dating and their story will be told in Carrot's Girl. I just have to write it. OH, and what do you think about green for the bridesmaids' dresses? Anne wants white, but Severus seems to have a fixation with green. ::shrugs::
Kari: I'm glad you like my new and improved Neville. I used it on my theory that every guy has at least one major growth spurt that can change how he looks completely. Yep, his body may have changed, but his personality remains intact. He's just as sweet as ever with just a little extra courage (Except for when dealing with Snape of course.) OH, and I hope you don't mind that I paired him up with Lavender. I have nothing against her, but as you can tell from Forgotten Heart, I'm not a fan of her when she's dating Ron.
mj: Does that stand for Mara Jade? Sorry, I had to know. My friend is a Star Wars freak and has me hooked on her. Once again, I apologize for keeping you waiting, but if I had gotten more reviews like yours, I would have tried to post this much sooner.