Forbidden Passions

Moriganne Rikhter

Rating- pg-13, for the large age difference between Lupin and Zoë.

Disclaimor-Dont own Harry Potter. Don't sue, the most you could get is a pack of gum.

Authors Note- I was actually going to write a yu-gi-oh one, but then I had a dream of Lupin and a student (great dream~^), but Lupin said to behave cause he was the students teacher and they couldn't be caught, and it spawned this. R&R, it does a body good. All Flames will be used to light my fireplace.

Chapter One: Kelpies

Professor Lupin sighed and began to walk out of his office, only to b e greeted by his student, Zoë Anari. She grinned up at him. "Hello Professor," she said cheerfully. Zoë glanced about the room. "Whatcha doin?" she asked curiously. His heart soared at the sight of the dark- haired beauty.

Professor spared Zoë a smile in return. "Well Zoë, I have just been informed of a Kelpie that has taken up residence down by Hagrids cottage, and they wish for me to dispose of it before any student has been hurt. So, I am sorry, but I was just on my way out." He nodded towards the door, and walked past her.

"Oh," she said, momentarily saddened. Her cheery disposition faltered, but then her curiosity once again shone through. "What's a Kelpie?" she wondered aloud, trailing after him in the hallways. Lupin was glad to not be leaving her behind so soon. She was by far his favorite student, and she made him remember why he chose to be a teacher. Then again, on the flip side, she also made him hate his job more than life itself. He was ever so in love with her, and her with him. The only problem is that he is her teacher. If their relationship were to be found out, serious consequences would follow. And so, as much as it killed him, he refused her love.

"A water demon," he explained, glancing sideways to her as she caught up to him. "It's a shape shifter, and it tends to take on the form of a horse. It will drag its victims into a lake, drown them, and then feed upon the persons dead body."

"Oh," she said, interested. She saw the way his eyes would light up when he spoke about such creatures. They were his hobby, his passion. "May I come to watch?" Zoë asked him.

Lupins head turned towards her once more, this time surprise showed on his handsome face. "Why would you want to?" he questioned. It was true, she was as fascinated by dark creatures as he was, but he had a feeling that she had an ulterior motive. He was right.

"It interests you," she whispered, her voice barely to be heard over the noise of the halls. "And I am curious about everything and anything that makes you happy." She said it with finality. The words briefly reminded Lupin of a childhood crush, but the way she spoke them told him otherwise. He knew how dear he was to her, how much she loved him. He had known her since he taught at Hogwarts two years ago, and they were close.

He gave her a long once over. Zoë looked at him lovingly, and yet she had a certain look of determination about her. 'She'll come whether I say yes or not,' he knew, and that was one of the things he loved most about her. She would do what she wished, despite others, especially him. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not, just don't get in the way," he warned her.

"I won't," she promised, grinning. "Thanks," she added, as she hurried beside him. Each of his strides was two of hers. She had thanked him because she knew she shouldn't be coming, and she doubted he would have allowed it had she have been someone else.

They were outside and pushing through the crowds, Zoë slightly ahead of Remus. He chuckled at how eager she seemed to be to see the creature. "And you say I bore you," he teased her with a laugh.

"Well...." she answered back jokingly. He swatted her playfully, and before they knew it they were down by Hagrids cottage. Fang came bounding up to them, and leaped onto Zoë. She laughed and petted him, while Lupin walked up to Hagrid.

"What's she doin' 'ere?" Hagrid asked him, pointing at me.

Lupin worked hard to not blush and look matter-of-fact. "She had stopped by my office to ask a question on the homework, and I told her I was leaving for this, and she asked to come," he shrugged. "I thought it could be a good learning experience." Hagrid gave Lupin a piercing glare, and then nodded, smiling.

"Alrigh' then, he's o'er 'ere," he nodded, pointing. "Han' seen i' all day, bu' I know i's out there," he added. He grinned and lolled over to Fang and Zoë, who were wrestling about on the ground. Lupin smiled, his heart giving a jump. He was, after all, an animal himself, or, at least, he was at TIMES. A shiver passed up his spine as a dirty thought got pushed from his head. 'Now's not the time,' he reminded himself.

He came over just in time to see Zoë sit up and smile at them. "Well?" she asked sweetly. Remus allowed himself another deep breath to calm his raging body, and then smiled back at her.

"We're off to go find it. The Kelpie hasn't been seen today, so we have to search. Stick with me," he warned her, sticking out his hand to help her to her feet. She smiled at him, and he shivered, as he was able to catch a sniff of her shampoo.

"Okay, thank you," she murmured into his chest, before pulling back. She was sad to leave his warmth, but knew that it was neither the time nor the place. The three of them went looking for the Kelpie for quite some time before splitting up.

Hagrid and Fang went with one spelled bridle in one direction, and Lupin and Zoë the others. They grew closer to the forest, though Zoë was becoming rather impatient with Lupines' slow-moving behavior. Finally, she glared at him, and said impatiently, "I doubt there's a horse hiding under that blade of grass, Remus."

His didn't bother to look up, but instead lowered himself closer to inspect a ladybug he had seen. "I said Kelpies USUALLY transform as Horses, that doesn't mean it is one. And please Ms. Anari call me Professor Lupin. I am your teacher, please try to remember this," he scolded.

Zoë felt as though he had just cast the Cruciatus Curse upon her. She blinked, knowing he was right, but still hurt at the tone in his voice. "Yes sir, I'm sorry Professor, I was being informal, and it was wrong. Please forgive me Sir," she whimpered, the pain she was feeling obvious to anyone listening.

His heart broke when he heard her tone. He wanted to alleviate the pain so badly. "No," he pleaded with her, standing, and leaving the bridle on the ground where he had been. "I-I'm the one who needs to apologize. I was harsh on you Zoë, and I regret it. I am sorry. But please, you know that we have to keep things formal. Its better that way for both of us.

Zoë nodded, and turned her head. She didn't want him to see the tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "I know," she admitted. "But it still hurts."

"You have no idea," he responded, moving so as to close the gap between them. "No idea at all. But it has to be."

Zoë turned to face him. She saw the resolve clearly, but it did nothing to mask his hurt. Slowly she raised her hand up to his face and cupped it, absently stroking his soft flesh with her thumb.

Before Remus could stop himself, he was leaning into her touch, and had let out a barely audible MMm of pleasure. Her sweet touch, stroking him and taking away all his pain and torment, even though it's for just a minute. He sighed and closed his eyes, reaching up with his own hand to cup hers. He pulled her into him closely with his other arm, and crushed her to himself, as if hoping to transcend her body into her spirit. Her other hand wound around him and stroked his back with her thumb, before resting her head against his cheek and letting out a soft and pleased sigh. "I love you," she whispered out.

Remus let out a moan. "I love you too," he groaned against her hand. He moved it against his mouth and began pressing kisses to it. He moved down her arm, causing thrills of pleasure to run up Zoë's spine. "Mmm," he gasped as Zoë pulled his head over to hers and their lips connected.

Slowly they let the kiss end, and pulled back, breathing hard and staring into one another's eyes. Remus shut his eyes and panted for a brief moment, hoping to regain some self-control before somebody found them. Like this. Oh god, she could be expelled. Keeping that thought in mind, he jerked himself away from their passionate embrace, stumbling backwards from the force. "No," he told her, though the no was unconvincing, even to himself.

"What?" Zoë gasped back. Boom. Pain. Ow. "Did I do something wrong?" she wondered aloud. A tear slid down her cheek.

Remus' heart broke into little pieces at the sight of the tear he had caused. "No, of course not!" he yelled at her, vehemently. "You, I, well, I love you." 'Real smooth Remus!' He scolded himself. Another tear leaked out, and he wanted to cry himself, so was the depth of his feelings, and of the pain he felt. He watched her tiny frame shake in the cold wind, and let out a protesting whimper when a sob escaped her throat. He moved towards her, to wipe the tears and give her his cloak for heat, but she turned and ran off into the forest.

Damn it! "Get back here!" he yelled at her, gut wrenching as he became aware of the danger the forest held for an untrained witch. 'There are Acromantula's and Lethifolds, and Manticores in there!' He panicked further, and put on an extra burst of speed.

Sobbing, Zoë didn't care where she went as long as she wasn't near Remus right then. Gods how she loved him, and she couldn't stand to listen to him tell her one more time how he loved her but that they still could never be together. "No," she whimpered aloud, running faster when she heard the footfall of Lupin closing in behind her. She ran blindly, the tears obscuring her vision, until she tripped over a root and went flying. She cried out and waited for the impact, but it never came. Instead she felt herself moving in mid-air. Panicking, she opener her eyes and glanced down...to see that she was perched upon a white horse, with a mane made out of bulrushes.

The Kelpie! Lupin nearly had a heart attack. She had been taken a top the Kelpie, without the magicked saddle, and without knowing the proper pacifying spell. The evil creature turned about face, and glared at Lupin for a moment, almost as if it knew that it had taken his treasure. Zoë's eyes had grown ride, and she was trying to hop off, but before she could, the horse whinnied and bucked, trapping her back onto its back, and sped off in the direction of the lake. "REMUS!" Zoë cried out, her voice moving, despite the fact that Remus was chasing them as fast as he could.

"DAMNIT!" he cursed loudly, fumbling about inside his robes for his wand. He shot up sparks for Hagrid to find them, and then cried out a Summoning Charm to get the bridle. All the while trying his hardest to avoid the trees and catch up with Zoë.

Regaining her wits, she thought quickly. 'Remus is too far back,' she knew, to catch her in time. 'It's in my hands. Training don't fail me now.' She managed to grab a hold of her wand, and then thought of a charm that could slow the creature. "Bingo," she mumbled aloud, a smile crossing her face, as she thought of the perfect one. "PETRIFICUS TOTALIS!" She cried out, aiming the wand at the horse, which froze stiff in mid-air, causing both horse and rider to go flying.

Remus watched in amazement as Zoë petrified the Horse from Hell. He ran over to the horse, now equipped with the bridle with the Placement Charm, therefore subduing the creature, and dashed over to where Zoë laid clutching her ankle and groaning. "Are you all right?" he panted.

She glanced up at him painfully. "No," she groaned out. He leaned her upper body against him, where she grasped onto his cloak in pain, and watched as he removed her hand from her pained ankle and stared at it.

A lump rose in his throat and guilt overcame him. 'She's hurt and its all my fault,' he mumbled. "Broken," he muttered to her. "I'm sorry," he added brokenly. He picked her up under her knees and stood. He began to walk back towards the castle, with a brief, "She got hurt, I have to take her to the Hospital Ward," by means of explanation.

Slowly he walked towards the hospital ward. Se had buried her head in his neck to suppress the pain, and he let out a cry as he felt he felt her teeth connect with his flesh. She yanked back her head, the tears still glistening on her face, and she blushed. Teeth gritted, she parted them long enough to toss out, "I'm sorry," before falling back against him.

"No, I am," he answered, trying to keep himself together. "This is all my fault. I-We-I'm sorry." The last part he whispered. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say; yet somehow he felt he had to say it. Because even now, even in pain, he felt her fingers stroking his neck gently, rhythmically. 'God how she managed to kill him and bring him back to life over and over. I love her, and I need her.' "I'm sorry for being so weak," he mumbled to her, before gently taking the steps, careful not to jerk his precious cargo so as not to cause the girl any more pain from her ankle swinging.

"You're the strongest person I have ever met," she argued, from deep within the crook in his neck and folds of his robes. The pain was unbearable, yet through the haze she saw clearly Remus J. Lupins face. 'God I love him.'

"Funny," he responded bitterly. He swung around and pushed open the door to the hospital ward from behind, and then brought her to see Madam Pomfrey, who immediately gave her a potion for the pain and mended the bone. Remus sat with Zoë while the mending was done. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to be there, and to be honest; he wanted nothing more then to run away. That way they wouldn't have to talk any more. He could pretend things were normal, pretend he wasn't madly in love with a girl who was 20 years younger then he, and pretend he hadn't just kissed his pupil. 'Damn reality,' he thought miserably as he gently wiped the tears from Zoë's face.

"There you go, all healed up. Just don't go doing something crazy like that again," Poppy told her, shaking her finger at her in a censuring fashion. "Be warned, that pain potion will be making you sleepy, so you may wish to just go back to your dorm and sleep it off. Professor, perhaps you wouldn't mind escorting the student back to her common room?" She asked him, but it wasn't really a question, more a delegation of the duties.

"Of course," Remus answered automatically, helping Zoë get gingerly to her feet. He kept his hand on her back, and they walked out of the room together. The room got slightly airy to Zoë, and she began to lean a bit more on Lupin. They were walking down the hall, when exhaustion hit her. It became a struggle to even keep her eyes open. Seeing this, Remus swept Zoë back into his arms. "My chambers are closer," he whispered to her.

"Thank you," Zoë slurred. She couldn't stand to walk up to her common room, and doubted she could even remember the way in her stupor.

Remus uttered the phrases that deactivated his charms and entered his chambers. He brought her straight to the back and gingerly placed her on the bed. He pulled the blankets up around her, and whispered, "Goodnight my sweet angel," he whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead, and allowing for a gentle hug before he began to pull away.

Summoning all her remaining energy, Zoë called out to Lupin. "Remus, stay," she slurred. He paused, then moved back a top her.

"Excuse me?" he asked her, not sure he hadn't imagined it.

Her hand faintly tried to tug on his robes, but fell away. "Stay," she breathed.

Lupin let out his breath. "Alright," he answered, lowering himself beside her, so he wouldn't crush the delicate angel, and wrapped her in his arms. He pulled the blanketed bundle closer to him, and allowed the peaceful joy of sleep to overcome him.

Authors Note: Well, there ya go, Chapter One. Tell me what ya think! ^^