Author's Note: You are all just lovely people and I'm glad you are enjoying my story so much! Rugi and Gwena, you are marvelous; Torquemada, Plane Jane, and Fainting Maid, you are dears. Sosia Camillina, you've been releasing plot bunnies in your reviews! Not only that, they've found where I hid the lettuce and are growing at an alarming rate. They'll start breeding any time now, I'm afraid. Thanks grin.
In keeping with the fact that I'm a eclectic nutcase g, I've quoted The Big Chill below, 50 points to the house of whoever is able to spot it.
Chapter Eight: The Morning After
Remus awoke to a feeling of direct pressure being applied to his throat. Alarmed, he opened his eyes and he found himself staring into a pair of bright yellow-green eyes contained in the heart-shaped face of Sosia's cat.
"Gamaliel," he rasped, "could you kindly take your paw off my windpipe?"
The cat's eyes narrowed speculatively as he gave Remus' throat one more jab, then he turned and sauntered down to the opposite end of the sofa and curled up at his feet, still watching him carefully.
"I suppose you're trying to tell me it's time to get up, hmm?"
Remus sat up groggily and looked for that clock again. 8:23 am. Sighing, he stood and stretched, hearing the unmistakable sounds of breakfast being prepared coming from the kitchen. Rubbing his hand over his face, he grimaced. He hadn't come prepared for an overnight stay and he was desperately in need of a shave.
"Remus?"
"Hm?" Sosia had stuck her head into the living room, an apron around her waist, a spatula in her hand, and her long hair done up in a loose bun with just a few wisps escaping to caress her neck and forehead. She blew one out of her eyes as she continued.
"Good, Gamaliel woke you." Gamaliel gave a contented purr at this, hopping down from the sofa and going to twine about Sosia's ankles.
Lucky cat.
"There's a spare shaving kit in the bathroom down the hall there," Sosia gestured to a door just past the kitchen.
She's read my mind.
"Breakfast will be ready soon, still eat meat?" She inquired.
Laughing, Remus replied, "Yes, do you still serve it?"
"Of course, I'm a confirmed omnivore." She said with a grin, "but it never hurts to check. I've got a few friends that are full Vegans and they'd just die if I cooked them sausages and eggs." Sosia mimed a melodramatic horrified look with a hand to her heart.
Laughing still, Remus headed down the hallway to the bathroom. Sosia was certainly pulling out all the stops this morning. He had a suspicion that she was putting on a brave face for him. They were going to see Dumbledore that afternoon.
~~~
Once Fawkes had arrived early that morning, the tension that had been building almost imperceptibly in Remus since early evening had been released and he had felt fully able of falling deeply asleep right there in the iron seat of the kissing bench. His curiosity over the contents of Sosia's thick missive, however, had kept him awake.
"What does Dumbledore say in your letter?" He inquired.
"This and that," Sosia replied vaguely, worrying at the knots on the slim box that had accompanied the letter.
"It appears to be a lot of 'this and that'." Remus cocked an eyebrow, pointing to the folded pages.
"Oh, he talks of many things." She replied airily.
"'Of shoes and ships and sealing wax'?"
"'And cabbages and kings',"
"'And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether fish have wings'." Finishing the quote from Lewis Carroll, Remus grinned. "Yes, Dumbledore does strike some as a touch scattered. I've always found him much more level-headed and practical than the Walrus and the Carpenter, though."
"Oh, I don't know. They were quite practical in their own way; they got themselves some dinner after all. Finally!" She had gotten the strings holding the box closed loose. Opening it and moving aside the silk packaging, she reached for the contents.
"Oh." Sosia breathed quietly, holding up her long unused wand in wonder. Rowan wood and the hair of a Demiguise, excellent wand for defensive work. Almost experimentally, she gave the wand a tiny flick and gasped when brilliant silver light sparked from the tip. "It still works!" She exclaimed happily.
"Since I sense that you are not going to share the contents of your letter with me," Remus grinned to soften the implied rebuke, "How about shaking out those robes and letting me get a good look at them."
She shot him a quick grin of her own, put the letter back in its envelope and pocketed the wand. Standing up, Sosia held the dark burgundy material by the shoulders. As she shook loose the folds of the elegant and simply cut robes, another set of clothing fell out from amidst them. This set was a deep navy blue, also of a simple cut and obviously designed for a masculine wearer.
"Apparently, Dumbledore feels we will be less apt to draw attention to ourselves if we don't wear Muggle clothing into Hogwarts." Remus acknowledged wryly, picking up the bundle from the ground. They really were a handsome set of robes, he almost wished he could keep them after their visit, but he had made it a rule never to accept charity, no matter the source. Looking up, he paused. Sosia was gawking at him, a look of pure astonishment of her face.
"Sosia? What is it?"
Shaking herself, she looked up from the robes in his arms. "Nothing. You'll look quite handsome in those."
"Thank you, you won't look half bad yourself. How shall we answer the Professor?"
~~~
Remus shook the razor dry as he finished his morning ablutions, and reflected on the message they had finally agreed to send back to Dumbledore with Fawkes.
Headmaster,
Miss Black and I will arrive this evening during the dinner hour at the school. We will wait upon you in your office, if you would be kind enough to provide me with the password. We shall use all due caution and avoid the village, I assure you.
Until tonight,
Remus J. LupinI've become positively terse in my letters recently. Remus shook his head as he headed into the kitchen. Sosia was staring at the stovetop, with an intense and slightly troubled gaze.
"That's the trouble with those things, you've got to watch them every minute. Anything I can do to help?"
"Hm?" She looked up, concentration broken, "No, thanks. I was just ruminating on some rather odd dreams I had last night."
"Oh?" He couldn't help but lean forward in interest.
"Nothing important or relevant." Sosia replied irritatedly, "Just…. Odd. I was falling from the Astronomy Tower at school, but I never hit the ground; I just kept falling."
As she began to serve them both a freshly made breakfast of porridge, browned mushrooms, eggs, sausage, toast and marmalade, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Remus rose from the table and made for the door. "It's probably Sam, come to check on us." He muttered under his breath as he reached the door and pulled it open.
It was most decidedly not Sam.
Author's Note Part Two: Sorry it's so short; but I'm ashamed to admit, I couldn't resist pausing there sheepish grin. On the up side, Chapter Nine will be out by Monday, February 25, 2002—honest! Until then you could tell me where I should go with Fortes Fortuna Juvat, if you've nothing better to do.
