Lupin stood outside the auditorium doors where Moira was teaching a class. He could dully hear her voice through the doors. He opened them and slipped into the dark room, sliding into the first empty seat he found near the back. Slides of castles and people long dead were being projected onto a large screen, and though he could not see her, Moira's voice explained each while a hundred students copied notes.
"This slide" she said, as the picture changed, "is a portrait of Richard the Third. As you can see, he looks nothing like the descriptions in Shakespeare's plays. You have to remember, while this is called a history, it was nothing more than propaganda for the people. Shakespeare used the information from Henry VII's historians who portrayed Richard as a degenerate, that even God himself was against him, making Henry's rule a salvation from the twist-armed hunchback."
The lights came on. Moira was standing on the edge of the stage. She looked quite young in her khaki pants and a light blue blouse. Lupin knew the black academic robes were not commonly used in the States. Her red curls were tied at the nape of her neck.
"Alright guys and girls, our summer session is almost over. Remember, our final is on Tuesday of next week. There will be fifty-." Her eyes landed on Lupin, sitting quietly near the back of the room. He couldn't read the expression on her face, but he knew she was not smiling. Several students had turned at her pause to see who she was looking at. "There will be fifty multiple choice questions and two essays. The AI's will let you know exactly what to study for during your discussion groups tomorrow. I'll see you all on Tuesday."
Students began packing up backpacks and filing out of the room. Lupin kept his eyes on Moira, hoping she would not try to escape before he could reach her. She was gathering up her notes, talking to two older students he guessed were her assistants as Lupin pushed his way toward the front against the flow of the students.
"Make sure that you tell them to study the footnotes," she was saying as he approached her. "I don't think most of them were paying attention to them during their readings."
The boy nodded, then pointed to Lupin, who was now standing behind her. She turned and looked at him, her face betraying no emotion.
"Remus," she said in a less than friendly greeting.
"Professor Lupin."
She winced slightly.
"Angela, Brian, be in my office about fifteen minutes before the exam so we can go over the procedure." The assistants nodded and disappeared through a side door. Moira turned back to Lupin. "Help me with this?" She handed him a box before he could answer and took another into her arms, then exited through the same door Brian and Angela had just used.
"Moira-"
"Not here, Remus," she said without turning. "We'll go to my office. It's right upstairs." They rode an elevator to the fourth floor, then followed a hallway that twisted and turned before stopping outside a simple wooden door. Moira balanced the box on a bent knee while she unlocked her door, then entered. Lupin followed. She took the box from his hands and slid it under a table near the door. She leaned against the edge of the table and crossed her arms across her chest.
"What are you doing here?"
"That's not much of a greeting for an old friend."
"The key word there is 'old.'"
"Dumbledore sent me."
Her eyes closed.
"Somehow I knew this wasn't a social visit."
"I take it you didn't get his letter."
"Got it, yes. Opened it, no."
Lupin cocked his head. Something was different about her. Her accent was almost gone.
"You've done a very good job of hiding, Professor Lupin. Does this mean we're related now?"
"Stop it, Remus." She crossed her room to her desk and pulled a file folder from a drawer.
"May I ask why you chose my name?"
"As opposed to what? Black? I'd rather not remind myself of him for the rest of my life."
"But you'd rather remember me? I'm touched."
"I can trust you, at least." She opened the door. "Especially to tell Dumbledore you never found me."
Lupin slipped his wand from his sleeve and flicked it, closing the door.
"Put that away!" Her voice was full of alarm.
"I'm not leaving. Not until you hear me out."
"You know, you haven't changed. Everyone thought you were so quiet and sweet when we were in school. So shy. Don't forget, Remus, I knew you."
"And you've changed a great deal. I never thought I'd see the day that you, of all people, would run away."
She was silent for a moment.
"All right. We'll talk, but not here. The last thing I need is for someone to start asking questions about you."
"Tell them I'm your brother."
"I don't have a brother."
"Well now you do, Professor Lupin."
"Let's go."
"Do you live here, too?"
"No. We're going to my apartment. And we're driving, like normal people do."
"Like muggles do, you mean," he said as he followed her down the hallway.
She stopped dead.
"Remus, while you are here, you will do nothing that will make me seem anything but normal, and that includes using that word. I've worked very hard to get where I am."
"Yes, sister," he replied, enjoying himself immensely as she sighed heavily and lead him down the elevator to the garage and her car. Within ten minutes, they were pulling into a gated apartment complex. Moira waved to the security guard and pulled around to the back of the building where she slid into an empty parking spot. She led him inside and up a flight of stairs that stopped at a door. She unlocked it and stepped aside for him to enter.
They were barely inside when she pushed the door closed and turned several locks, ending by draping a small chain across the side and pushing it into a metal hole.
Remus looked around curiously as Moira disappeared into the adjoining kitchen. It looked pretty normal: a couch sat against one wall, a very soft looking chair against the other. A small television sat in the corner. There were several lovely paintings on the walls, mostly landscapes he recognized as Ireland, but none moved. A clock ticked away in the adjoining dining room. Something was missing.
"Moira, where is your fireplace?"
"I don't have one," she answered from the next room. He could hear her pouring something into glasses.
"What kind of witch doesn't have a fireplace?"
She reentered the room carrying two glasses of red wine. "The kind that doesn't want to be found." She gave him one of the glasses and motioned for him to sit on the couch before crossing to the dining room table to retrieve a sealed envelope. Lupin recognized Hogwart's wax seal on the back as she turned it over in her hands.
"I knew as soon as I got this that someone would turn up." She sipped her wine and placed it on the table. Then opened the envelope.
Moira,
The Defense Against the Darks Arts position is open and I am offering it to you. You're expertise and talent will be much appreciated at our school. Please contact me as soon as possible with an answer.
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster
"Why do I feel like Dumbledore wouldn't send you all the way out here to convince me to take a teaching position."
"Let's just say that your presence at the school is not merely for academic needs."
"Be straight with me."
"You may want to sit down."
"I'm fine."
"Voldemort has risen."
"I need to sit down." She sat in the chair across from him, then stood again and paced the room. "You're sure? You've seen him?"
"A student did."
"A student? You guys are putting up all your defenses because of something a student saw? It was probably just a nightmare or a hoax."
"Let me rephrase that. Harry Potter saw him." The use of that name drew just the reaction Lupin had hoped for. Her jaw dropped in disbelief. Her eyes widened.
"Harry? James and Lily's boy? He's at the school? And he saw Voldemort? How? What happened?"
Lupin explained the events of the Triwizard Tournament, as he had heard them from Dumbledore. Moira sat silently throughout, listening. Lupin told her of the portkey, and as he began to explain the spell used, she murmured to herself.
"Bone of the father, flesh of a servant, blood of an enemy."
Lupin nodded, surprised that she knew of the spell, and continued. When he finished, Moira returned to her seat with her wine and thought in silence.
"So he's back. And he has it out for Harry. Jesus. Is Harry still staying with Lily's sister? Of course he is. It's the safest place for him, unless- Remus, the servant, who was it? Tell me it wasn't Sirius. Have they caught him yet?"
"No and no. It wasn't Sirius, and they haven't caught him yet."
"Does Harry know who he is? If he touches a hair on that boys head, I'll kill him myself."
"I got the impression you didn't want to be a witch anymore."
"I won't need a wand."
From the look on her face, Lupin believed that was true. Moira had always been hot tempered, always a little more so with Sirius, but never to this extent.
"Well, I certainly hope you don't catch him either."
Moira stared at him as if were insane.
"You asked me a moment ago whom the servant was," Lupin said, sipping his wine. "I'm not sure you'll believe me if I tell you."
"Try me."
"Peter."
Moira laughed out loud.
"This is a joke, right? Peter's dead, Remus. I saw the street myself. I was one of the first people on the scene. Sirius killed Peter."
"And I saw Peter with my own eyes. He is very much alive."
"So, wait, I missed something. If Peter's alive, what's he doing with Voldemort?"
"He was James and Lily's Secret Keeper. Peter betrayed them, not Sirius. When Sirius realized what had happened, he confronted Peter. Peter destroyed the street and scurried into the sewers like the rat he is."
"How long have you known?"
"Just over a year. Sirius tracked him to Hogwarts where the little rat was playing pet to one of Harry's best friends."
Moira sat in silence for a long time, sipping her wine.
"So if Sirius is looking out for Harry," she asked, "why does Dumbledore want me?"
"You are a trained Auror. Up until you left, you were on the track to being really great."
"I was on the track to being either really crazy or really dead."
"The future of all the great Aurors." Moira's cold stare made him realize what he had said. "I'm sorry, Moira. I forgot for a moment."
"It's all right."
"You never told us why you chose that line of work. It was because of your father, wasn't it?"
"I'm not a vengeful person, Remus. I never have been."
He leaned back in his seat, studying her carefully. His eyes took in her flawless face and hair, then slid down to her left hand which was covered in small scars that he knew led up to her shoulder.
"Moira," he said softly, "what happened to your hand?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"You know what happened."
"Remind me." Lupin was careful to look her straight in the eye. "It's been a very long time."
"I got in the way of an Elemental Curse," she answered. "My whole arm was engulfed in flames before I knew what happened. But you knew that. You used to visit me when I was healing."
"I did know that. What made you go after Rosier on your own?"
"We caught him. He ran. I ran after him. When I found him, he acted faster. I reacted stronger."
"You killed him."
"You already know this story."
"Why kill him? Why not just stun him?"
"Hasty decisions can be made when you're on fire."
"He's the one that killed your father. You were injured because you went after him. And the Potters were killed while you were healing."
"Care to add a little lemon juice to the salt in my wound?"
"It wasn't your fault, Moira. Not them or anyone else. You couldn't have saved them even if you were there."
"Did you come all this way to make me feel better about myself? Because if you did, you're doing a rotten job." She went to the kitchen and returned with a full glass of wine, carrying the bottle in her other hand.
"I'm just trying to figure out why you ran out on us."
"Everyone was dead or in prison. I wasn't running out on anyone."
"Everyone but me."
"Don't tell me, I ruined your life too."
"Don't forget, Moira. I was with you when you went to the Potters'. I saw everything you did. And all of my friends were gone too. The difference is, I didn't run."
"Do you want a ribbon for bravery?"
"I want you to know you're not alone anymore. I'm still here. And so's Sirius and Harry. You were practically his godmother."
"Christ, Remus. Is there any more guilt you want to drop in my lap? You thought Sirius was guilty too. Don't look down on me because I broke off our engagement."
"I was talking about your relationship with Harry, not Sirius. He should have grown up calling you Aunt Moira. Instead, he's never met you."
"I think it's a little late for that, Uncle Remus. How old is he now? Fifteen? He's practically grown."
"And he's trying to get a sense of his parents from people he barely knows. Sirius and I are his only real link. I'd say he'd love to meet you."
Moira stood.
"Are you hungry?"
"A bit."
"Do you want me to make something, or do you want me to just throw some raw meat in a bowl?"
Remus smiled and followed her into the kitchen where she began opening cabinets and rummaging through the refrigerator.
"I don't have much. I don't do much entertaining." She turned around and stared up at a cupboard that stood open. "Chinese sounds good. Let's order in. I don't fell much like cooking."
Forty-five minutes later, they were seated on the floor of Moira's living room, sharing small white boxes of sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and vegetable egg rolls.
"So tell me, Remus. Aside from fighting the baddies with Dumbledore, what have you been doing all these years?"
"A lot of studying. Trying to find a cure for my- condition. I spent a year teaching at Hogwarts. The Defense job."
"Really? I though you might be good at teaching. What happened?"
"Word got out that a werewolf was teaching at the school. General parental panic. I stepped down year before last."
"How did it get out?"
"Severus let it slip."
Moira nearly choked.
"Snape? He's teaching there? Is Dumbledore daft?"
"Yes and no. He's still not much of a people person, but really quite good at what he does. He was preparing the Wolfsbane Potion for me."
"And it just accidentally slipped that you were a werewolf to people who had no business knowing."
"Maybe not so accidentally. He has good reason to distrust me."
"That doesn't make it okay. That's a guy who needs to get on with his life."
"And I forgot to take the potion the night we discovered Peter. It was a full moon. I could have killed someone."
"Is that how he escaped?"
"Now who gets the guilt trip?" He finished his wine and replenished his glass and drank half of it. It went down very smoothly. His head was already beginning to spin, but he didn't want the night to end. Truth be told, he had missed Moira quite a bit over the years.
"You were the only one I was sorry to leave," Moira said out of the blue, mirroring his own thoughts. "I liked bantering with you. You were practically my best friend."
"Practically?"
"It was a close tie with you, Lily, and Sirius."
"At least I beat out James."
"It's never comfortable to be best friends with your best friend's boyfriend." When she grinned at him, she looked exactly as she did when they were in school.
"Beautiful." The alcohol was taking over.
"What?"
"I always thought you were beautiful." He closed his eyes. The room was spinning. When he opened them, Moira had disappeared. She reappeared from a back hallway bearing blankets and pillows.
"I don't have a guest room, but you should be pretty comfortable on the couch." She made up a bed for him and helped him lie down. "Good night, Remus."
"Good night, Moira." He wanted to kiss her. He always had. She took his hand.
"I have an early class, but I should be back by noon. We'll have lunch together before you leave."
He stared up into her dark green eyes that drooped with drunkenness.
"All right."
She stood and turned off the lights, but he didn't hear her move off.
"I'm glad you came to see me, Remus."
His ears picked up her movement down the hallway. He pictured her tracing her finger on the wall as she walked as he had seen her do a hundred times in the past so she wouldn't walk past her doorway.
"As am I."
"Moira, we have to go. Something's happened," Lupin said as he slid through her front door.
"What is it, Remus?" Her voice was panicked as he helped her fasten her cloak. Her arm was still bandaged and hard to bend.
"James and Lily. He found them."
"How?" She clutched her wand awkwardly in her right hand.
"I don't know."
The apparated a few moments later in the Potters' living room. It was a shambles. He heard Moira cry out and turned to find her kneeling next to James' lifeless body.
"He's dead," she said. Her face changed. "Oh god! Lily! The baby!"
They raced up the stairs and ran into Hagrid coming out of the nursery, little Harry screaming in his arms. "She's dead. They're both dead. Only little Harry here survived." He looked sadly at the child.
She noticed the cut on his forehead, touched it. "He's hurt! Hagrid, where are you taking him?" She was shaking. Remus put his arms around her.
"Dumbledore."
They followed Hagrid outside. Sirius was just climbing off his bike. He was deathly white. "James! Lily!"
"They're dead, Sirius. He killed them both."
"They can't be! No, God, please!"
"Sirius." Moira slid out of Remus' arms and into Sirius'. Remus slinked off to the side.
"Hagrid, give Harry to me." Sirius cried, still holding Moira. "I'm his godfather. I'll look after him!"
"Can't, Sirius. I have me orders from Dumbledore."
"Take my bike, then. Get him there quickly."
"I can't-"
"Just go, Hagrid. I don't need it. Get Harry out of here!"
Sirius looked angry as Hagrid mounted the bike with little Harry and sped away. He had his wand out.
"Sirius, what happened? How did he find them?" He didn't answer her. His eyes were lit, a look of insanity at his lips. "What are you going to do?"
"Peter." He said the name venomously, and then disappeared from sight.
"Remus, where's he going?" Her eyes were desperate as they landed on him.
"I don't know," he answered, shaking his head.
Moira just stared at him. Her legs gave way and she was sitting in the grass of James and Lily's yard, her left arm dangling helplessly at her side
"What happened?" she cried as Remus kneeled beside her, wrapping his arms around her once more, attempting to comfort her. "What happened?" Her face was buried in his neck. He could feel her tears hot against his skin.
"I don't know, Moira. I don't know."
Lupin awoke with a start. He was lying in Moira's dark living room. He stared at the wall that separated them and wondered if she was dreaming the same memories.