Reena left the school grounds and apparated to quiet country lane. A
few meters away, there was a white picket fence and a sign that read "the
Den". Behind the fence were several well-tended flowerbeds and a small,
weather-worn house. Unlike most Muggle houses, the Den did not have a
driveway. The unassuming fence was charmed with Muggle repellents and could
only be opened with a wand, although it was low enough to jump over. Reena
did the civilized thing and opened the gate with her wand. The gate
automatically closed and locked behind her. A short walkway to the door
allowed visitors to marvel at the colorful flowers. The front door did not
budge open with any known spell. During his bouts of unemployment, Remus
had formulated a mew locking charm and did not register it. He thought it
was in his best interest to protect people from breaking in. One had to
ring an ordinary door bell so that Remus could let whoever in.
Reena rang the bell ad waited. Enough time had passed that she thought Remus wasn't home. As she was about to leave the front porch and go down the country lane to dissaperate (The Den and property were areas where apperating/dissaperating were inpossible), Remus opened the door. He was pale and looked very tired, other than that, he face did not display any type of feeling.
"Hello," he greeted in his hoarse voice, except it was unusually hoarse and it looked like he used most of his energy to speak the one word.
""Is this a good time to speak with you?" Reena asked concerndly.
"No, no. Come in," he said motioning for her to step inside the house.
Reena followed him through the house and into the sitting room. His house was impeccably clean and filled with interesting things. Specimens of dark creatures sat perfectly preserved in jars and there were books everywhere. The walls of the house had several magical paintings. He had acquired them from the art gallery his parents owned in Diagon Alley when they were alive. Remus flung himself into a wing chair and motioned to another chair where a pile of books rested. Reena moved the books and sat down.
Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It seemed a long time before he opened his eyes and exhaled.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Reena asked skeptically of his previous answer.
"Full moon last night. I just need sometime to recover. Remember when we were in school?" Remus asked wearily.
"Yeah, who could forget? You were almost always wiped out for days," Reena responded.
Remus' face lit up with a faint smile. "I know. I'm only down for about a day now. What did you want to talk about?"
"I have a case that I can't work on. Do you want to head it?"
"What case?"
"Peter's. I was impressed by your reports. I think you would be successful."
"What about Jeff Zane? Isn't this his job?"
"Not anymore. He's getting his release notice as we speak. You know yourself that nobody else could do the job."
"Sirius could. He's a genius at this type of stuff."
"I know. But you you've been doing this since you were a professor. Could you at least consider the position?"
Remus managed to give a small laugh before speaking. "Reena, I'll take the job. You don't have to convince me, God knows I need the job."
"Thanks Remus. This means a lot to me," she said as she stood to leave.
"Please, can you stay for a little bit. I need to ask you some things."
"Sure," Reena said as she sat down again.
"Accio tea tray," Remus said, pointing his wand to a tray sitting in his dining table. The tray floated over to a coffee table between the two chairs.
"Tea?" Remus asked.
"Can I have some coffee?"
"Whatever you like," he said, pointing the tip of his wand over the mug. A stream of dark coffee came out of the tip. He filled his own mug with tea. As they prepared their hot drinks to their liking, Remus took a few sips of his tea before he said anything.
"Reena, can I ask you for some advice?" he asked rather shyly.
"Go ahead, what can I help with?"
"I met a girl last year when I was up North. And I really like her. Where am I supposed to go from there?"
"Does she know about your condition?'
There was a slight pause before he spoke. "No."
"Remus, exactly how long have you been seeing her?"
"On and off since last August. We don't see each other often because of her work schedule."
"She hasn't seen you during a full moon?"
"I've always managed not to be around her on a full moon. Since we don't see each other on a regular schedule, it's not strange that we haven't seen each other on a full moon."
"You have to tell her if you want to get more serious. Exactly where do you want to elevate your relationship?"
"I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem fair not to tell her."
"How do you think she'll react?"
"She's a sensible girl, really smart. She won't act like a 15th century peasant, but I don't want her to break it off."
"You have to go with you main feeling. I don't know what else to tell you."
"I just needed to get someone's opinion."
"That's what friends are for."
"Can I ask you another question?"
"Go ahead,"
"Have you seen Sirius lately?"
"Yes I have," she stated plainly, leaving out any details to why he had come back for a short time.
"Anymore details?" Remus asked, intrigued that Sirius had not contacted him as well.
"What else can I say? He stayed for a few days then he had to go."
"No much on words, eh? You know, I've always looked up to yours and Sirius' relationship. It's like the perfect model."
"Sirius and I? What about James and Lily? They had the pinnacle of all relationships."
"In a certain aspect, they did. But you and Sirius have that type of relationship for patience. I mean, you had a 2 year gap between your graduations. Then you have a period of 14 years where you don't see each other, yet that night when I came for him, both of you seemed like nothing had change. That was the night I realized how lonely I was. After that, I kept asking myself why I couldn't have something like that."
It hurt Reena to see her friend like this. He was such a nice fellow who didn't deserve the loneliness he had.
"I think you should tell this girl. If you really love her, you should be honest."
"I'm scared as hell to how she'll react. She's educated, but you know how most people think of me."
"You should do it. If she's educated, she'll know you take the wolfsbane potion. You're harmless and if she doesn't know this, then maybe she really doesn't know you."
"You're right, but it's still scary."
With a few more words of encouragement, Reena left her friend to recover at home. The thought of Remus having someone to love gave Reena a happy feeling. It also brought a feeling of Reena's own loneliness that she had suppressed so often.
~If you're reading this and haven't reviewed yet, please do!
Reena rang the bell ad waited. Enough time had passed that she thought Remus wasn't home. As she was about to leave the front porch and go down the country lane to dissaperate (The Den and property were areas where apperating/dissaperating were inpossible), Remus opened the door. He was pale and looked very tired, other than that, he face did not display any type of feeling.
"Hello," he greeted in his hoarse voice, except it was unusually hoarse and it looked like he used most of his energy to speak the one word.
""Is this a good time to speak with you?" Reena asked concerndly.
"No, no. Come in," he said motioning for her to step inside the house.
Reena followed him through the house and into the sitting room. His house was impeccably clean and filled with interesting things. Specimens of dark creatures sat perfectly preserved in jars and there were books everywhere. The walls of the house had several magical paintings. He had acquired them from the art gallery his parents owned in Diagon Alley when they were alive. Remus flung himself into a wing chair and motioned to another chair where a pile of books rested. Reena moved the books and sat down.
Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It seemed a long time before he opened his eyes and exhaled.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Reena asked skeptically of his previous answer.
"Full moon last night. I just need sometime to recover. Remember when we were in school?" Remus asked wearily.
"Yeah, who could forget? You were almost always wiped out for days," Reena responded.
Remus' face lit up with a faint smile. "I know. I'm only down for about a day now. What did you want to talk about?"
"I have a case that I can't work on. Do you want to head it?"
"What case?"
"Peter's. I was impressed by your reports. I think you would be successful."
"What about Jeff Zane? Isn't this his job?"
"Not anymore. He's getting his release notice as we speak. You know yourself that nobody else could do the job."
"Sirius could. He's a genius at this type of stuff."
"I know. But you you've been doing this since you were a professor. Could you at least consider the position?"
Remus managed to give a small laugh before speaking. "Reena, I'll take the job. You don't have to convince me, God knows I need the job."
"Thanks Remus. This means a lot to me," she said as she stood to leave.
"Please, can you stay for a little bit. I need to ask you some things."
"Sure," Reena said as she sat down again.
"Accio tea tray," Remus said, pointing his wand to a tray sitting in his dining table. The tray floated over to a coffee table between the two chairs.
"Tea?" Remus asked.
"Can I have some coffee?"
"Whatever you like," he said, pointing the tip of his wand over the mug. A stream of dark coffee came out of the tip. He filled his own mug with tea. As they prepared their hot drinks to their liking, Remus took a few sips of his tea before he said anything.
"Reena, can I ask you for some advice?" he asked rather shyly.
"Go ahead, what can I help with?"
"I met a girl last year when I was up North. And I really like her. Where am I supposed to go from there?"
"Does she know about your condition?'
There was a slight pause before he spoke. "No."
"Remus, exactly how long have you been seeing her?"
"On and off since last August. We don't see each other often because of her work schedule."
"She hasn't seen you during a full moon?"
"I've always managed not to be around her on a full moon. Since we don't see each other on a regular schedule, it's not strange that we haven't seen each other on a full moon."
"You have to tell her if you want to get more serious. Exactly where do you want to elevate your relationship?"
"I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem fair not to tell her."
"How do you think she'll react?"
"She's a sensible girl, really smart. She won't act like a 15th century peasant, but I don't want her to break it off."
"You have to go with you main feeling. I don't know what else to tell you."
"I just needed to get someone's opinion."
"That's what friends are for."
"Can I ask you another question?"
"Go ahead,"
"Have you seen Sirius lately?"
"Yes I have," she stated plainly, leaving out any details to why he had come back for a short time.
"Anymore details?" Remus asked, intrigued that Sirius had not contacted him as well.
"What else can I say? He stayed for a few days then he had to go."
"No much on words, eh? You know, I've always looked up to yours and Sirius' relationship. It's like the perfect model."
"Sirius and I? What about James and Lily? They had the pinnacle of all relationships."
"In a certain aspect, they did. But you and Sirius have that type of relationship for patience. I mean, you had a 2 year gap between your graduations. Then you have a period of 14 years where you don't see each other, yet that night when I came for him, both of you seemed like nothing had change. That was the night I realized how lonely I was. After that, I kept asking myself why I couldn't have something like that."
It hurt Reena to see her friend like this. He was such a nice fellow who didn't deserve the loneliness he had.
"I think you should tell this girl. If you really love her, you should be honest."
"I'm scared as hell to how she'll react. She's educated, but you know how most people think of me."
"You should do it. If she's educated, she'll know you take the wolfsbane potion. You're harmless and if she doesn't know this, then maybe she really doesn't know you."
"You're right, but it's still scary."
With a few more words of encouragement, Reena left her friend to recover at home. The thought of Remus having someone to love gave Reena a happy feeling. It also brought a feeling of Reena's own loneliness that she had suppressed so often.
~If you're reading this and haven't reviewed yet, please do!