A/N: Rhiannon, - Welcome to the chocolate-loving, flag-waving, cannon-
firing, fun little group that prowls the lands of AHN. Thanks for all the
reviews.
And to all of you that were brave enough to venture into The Potions Master's Other Plans, I hope that you found it was fun. (For all you diehard Remus fans, I at least made sure that I didn't leave you with a picture of Snape...how did Antinua put it?....starkers.) Thanks to all of you that reviewed there as well. You'll have noticed of course, that I was poking fun at Lorien (and myself) when I mentioned she was wearing blue underwear. It matches her blue nail polish. ;)
Being Siriusly Forward ~*~
Kaneene, her brother and her cousins had each spent seven years at Hogwarts, but they couldn't believe all the places in the castle they never knew about as they saw the secret passages and rooms also outlined on the Marauder's Map.
"This is unbelievable, Sirius." Keath commented as he watched the seven dots now gathered on the map labeled with each of their names. "Where did you ever get this?"
"Oh, some friends." Sirius answered vaguely as he watched Kaneene speaking with Evan, who was the next oldest Moody.
Evan nodded and Kaneene turned to Sirius. "We think that we should go and examine each of the secret passages to see about securing them. For now, at least."
"It's probably a good idea." Sirius agreed with mixed feelings about sealing all the hidden tunnels that he knew like the back of his hand.
"How many are there all together?" Asked Evan.
"Seven," said Sirius, "but this one here is caved in from what I hear." He indicated the tunnel.
"Ok. Evan, you and Dustan check this one and this one." Said Kaneene decisively. "Dixon, Brandon, you take these two. Keath and I will take these." She looked at Sirius. "You come with us."
The group split up.
The two Moodys and Sirius started with the passage that began at the whomping willow. After Sirius had shown them how to freeze the violent tree by poking the knot with a long stick, they crawled into the passageway. He explained to them where the passage came out, and together they agreed that this one should be sealed.
Keath stayed behind to perform the charm and drew the yellow string across the passageway that was required for the spell, while Kaneene moved on with Sirius to the third floor.
Draco Malfoy was angry with his mother. Once more he had asked her that she allow him to be transferred from Hogwarts to Durmstrang, but she had refused again as she had the other times. He was finding it difficult to cope with the way the other students, including many of those from his own house, had been treating him since his father went to Azkaban.
Even worse was the way they had acted toward him when his father had escaped, freed by the other Death Eaters and Voldemort himself.
Draco wandered the halls aimlessly while he thought.
It wasn't that he cared much what anyone else thought. He didn't, but it was the continual harassment and finger pointing that was beginning to wear on him.
Fine. If he had to stay at Hogwarts, then so be it. He would make the most of it. The tide was turning and he knew it was only a matter of time before he found a way to make them pay. The Gryffindors, Snape, everyone that he felt had ever wronged him.
Draco looked up as he heard voices nearing. He would have thought nothing of it until he heard a woman say something to 'Sirius.'
Sirius Black was here on the third floor, but why? He wanted to find out. Looking around quickly as the voices drew nearer, Draco saw the empty classroom. He ducked inside, leaving the door ajar the tiniest amount.
Black rounded the corner with the female auror and they walked halfway down the hall, almost to where he was in the classroom.
"This one goes where again?" The woman whispered.
"Honeydukes cellar." Black whispered back.
They stood before the statue of the one eyed witch and Sirius stepped forward to speak the opening charm after he had looked carefully around. Kaneene peered past him to watch the statue slide open.
"I'll go first." He said, and she watched as he barely squeezed himself through. He had remembered this being much easier as a teenager, but he still managed to slide neatly to the bottom and land on his feet. Realizing that Kaneene wouldn't be expecting the slide, he stood close to the bottom and called up to her.
Kaneene could tell that Sirius had called something back to her, but his voice was a little muffled and sounded distant as she pressed through the opening herself. She called back to him as she stepped into the passage. "What did you....whoa!" Her feet went out from beneath her and she slid rapidly downwards.
Sirius was peering back up the slide to see if he could tell what Kaneene was doing, and it was only a second or two before she collided with him and they ended up on the floor in a tumble.
Kaneene groaned and then attempted to untangle herself. "Why didn't you tell me about that?" She asked indignantly.
Sirius was on the floor beneath her laughing. "I did. I called back up to you." He continued to laugh.
"It's not funny." She scolded him.
"Are you hurt?" He asked, trying to seem less amused, and not succeeding very well.
"No." She admitted, realizing he had broken her fall.
"Well, then it's funny." He lay there still laughing as she hastily finished untangling herself, acutely aware of the fact that she was sprawled on top of him in a less than dignified way.
Kaneene was aware of that fact too, and she hurried to roll off of him and get to her feet. "You have an odd sense of humor, Black." She said, dusting herself off a bit.
He extended an arm upwards, signaling for her to help him up as he finally stopped laughing. She helped yank him to his feet, and he stood there close to her shaking his head and grinning. "I must be getting rusty," he said "to let an opportunity like that get by without doing anything about it."
"What opportunity?" She asked, eyes narrowing a tiny bit.
He gave her a calculating look. "You throwing yourself at me like that." He busied himself for a moment dusting the dirt off his robes.
"Throwing myself?" She asked incredulously.
He looked back up at her. "Yes, rather forward of you, don't you think, Miss Moody?" He was smiling and continuing to flirt.
She smiled back and put her hands on her hips. "I was not being forward, Black. You thought that was being forward?"
"Yes." He teased, giving her a roguish grin.
"Oh no." Kaneene replied. "THIS is being forward." She grabbed a large handful of the front of his robes and pushed him back a step against the wall as she reached up and kissed him soundly for several long seconds. She let go and smiled at him as he stayed where he was with his eyes closed. "Clear on that?" she asked.
"Perfectly." He croaked hoarsely.
"Right. Off we go then." She made her way down the passage, leaving Sirius wondering how she'd gotten the better of him at his own game.
Draco could no longer hear the distant muffled voices and he ventured a couple of steps out into the hall. He knew the significance of what he had seen and heard, and he knew just what to do with the information.
He decided that he was feeling a lot better about things when he finally left the third floor.
Monday night was when the headaches began. Remus was grading a large stack of essays at his desk, and he was finding it progressively more and more difficult to read anything. He struggled along for a while, but when he finally realized that he was reading the same passage on the parchment before him over and over without comprehending a thing, he pushed them aside and got up. He was going to have to find Lorien.
She was in her rooms and looked up when he entered. "Looks like a bad one." She simply said when she saw the pained expression he wore, and she patted the couch next to her.
Remus let himself drop weakly to sit next to her and was grateful as she placed her hands on him and made the headache recede.
He looked at her when she took her hands away. "Thank you. Nothing seems to help like that."
Lorien smiled, pleased that Remus was now feeling better. "Remus, please don't ever hesitate to ask for my help." She said.
"I won't." He smiled. "I hope you do know how much I appreciate it."
"I think I do. I have to tell you that I appreciate what you did for me as well. I'm sure it was a difficult conversation." She said. It was strange to bring that particular subject up, but she wanted him to know that she understood the lengths he had gone to for her.
"With Ariel?" Remus asked. "Not really." He chuckled at the thought of the Slytherin Astronomy witch potentially trussed up in her tower.
Lorien seemed a little surprised. "Wait, you talked to Sinistra?"
He nodded in the awkward moment that it dawned on him she was speaking of his other conversation. "That's not what you were talking about, is it?"
"No." Lorien shook her head. "I didn't know about Sinistra until just now."
Remus looked down a little. "How do you know I spoke to him?" He definitely felt strange now that she knew he'd approached Snape on her behalf.
Lorien shrugged. " He told me."
"He did?" Remus asked incredulously. He never suspected that Snape would ever tell her.
"Yes. Something about you knocking on his door in the middle of the night and calling him ...what was it?" She asked in an amused way. "Oh yes, a pathetic ass."
Remus tried to defend himself. "I didn't call him a pathetic ass. I told him that he should get the hell off his pathetic ass and do something about you before he screwed things up for good."
Lorien was smiling at the werewolf's defensive attitude. "Remus, I assure you that whatever it was that you called him does not begin to hold a candle to a few of the choice things that I called him."
Remus finally laughed. "So, are things.....better?" He asked quietly. It was awkward still to talk to her about this.
"Yes." She said softly. "Remus, about speaking to him? I would never have let you, had I known your intentions, but.....well, thank you." She put a hand on his.
"You're...happy?" He asked.
She hesitated to answer him, but then decided to be honest. "Yes."
"I'm very glad." He said sincerely and smiled at her.
"So, how are things going with Noah?" Lorien figured it was a not so obvious way to actually inquire about how things were going with Marlina.
"Great. The last week went really well." Remus replied. "He likes his lessons, he loves Hermione and the other the tutors, and most of the staff are raving about how well behaved he is and how much they enjoy him. I agree that we needn't worry about him being sufficiently educated while he's at Hogwarts."
"Marlina's happy?" Lorien asked casually.
"She's thrilled. It seems to be a great weight off her mind." He replied.
Lorien grinned, and could resist giving him a hard time no longer. "Thanks to the charming professor Remus Lupin coming to the rescue again." She teased.
Remus felt his face getting very warm.
Lorien laughed at him. "Oh, please. Stop being so embarrassed. I LIKE Marlina, Remus. I want you to be happy too. No one deserves to more." Lorien frowned suddenly and looked at him. "Remus, does she know?"
He shook his head. "No. Not yet I don't think."
"I have to tell you something, Remus." Lorien said, all of a sudden. "Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not trying to say anything bad about Marlina, but there's something very important you should know." She became quiet for a moment. "I think it's best if you know before she finds out."
"What is it?" He asked in a concerned way.
Lorien took a deep breath and let it back out. "It's about her husband." She began.
Remus panicked. "She's got a husband? I thought she wasn't married, at least not anymore. She's not wearing a ring. Noah never talks about his father. Why didn't anyone tell me about the husband?"
"Can I finish?" Lorien asked him, a bit irritated.
"Sorry." Remus said, piping back down.
Lorien continued her explanation. "Remus, Marlina's husband has been dead since just after Noah was born."
"Oh. I see." He said quietly. "So what do you need to tell me about him?"
Lorien didn't really want to tell him, but she felt it was best at this point if he knew. "He was killed when they both worked for the DRCMC."
"She worked for the Ministry?" Remus asked. "I thought she worked at the zoo."
"She worked at the zoo after the Ministry." Replied Lorien. "That's why she traveled so much." It took her a minute as he waited for her expectantly to be able to tell him about Marlina's past. "Remus, they both were part of the WCU." She said.
Remus felt his blood go cold. He knew exactly what the WCU was, and he had a bad feeling about what Lorien was going to say next.
"Remus," she gripped his hand again. "Marlin's husband was killed by a werewolf." It nearly broke her heart when she saw the defeated look cross his face at her news.
He sat there for a long moment holding her hand tightly and staring blankly at the couch. Finally his eyes met hers. "She hates them, doesn't she?"
"Yes, Remus," Lorien said. She didn't really want to admit it, but she knew he needed to know the truth. She tried to cheer him up a little. "But she doesn't hate you."
"That's because she doesn't know yet." Remus said softly.
Remus kept looking at Sirius in an odd way and it was beginning to get on his nerves. "Moony, what?" He asked from where he sat, casually watching the labeled dots on the map in front of him.
Remus perched on the edge of the desk as he spoke. "I talked to Lorien about Marlina today."
Sirius looked up after noting where the dot labeled Kaneene Moody was. "That's nice."
"Or I should say she talked to me." Remus replied, giving Sirius a meaningful look.
"About what?" Sirius asked, not really sure what Lupin's point was.
"About the fact that she used to be part of the WCU." Remus said.
Sirius winced. "She finally told you, huh?"
"You knew?" Remus started angrily. "You knew and you didn't tell me?"
Sirius frowned at Remus. "Look, I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner, but you never would have ever let yourself go anywhere near her or Noah, and think how much you'd be missing out on."
Remus knew he was right. "I'm going to have to tell her, Padfoot. If, that is, she doesn't find out some other way." He sighed. "You'll be there tomorrow?"
Sirius nodded.
Marlina kept glancing in the direction of Remus's classroom as she locked hers up for the day, and frowned when he didn't appear. He often waited for her and walked with her to get Noah at the end of classes, and he seemed to have disappeared this afternoon.
"Well, he can't spend all of his time escorting you around," she said to herself, figuring he probably had a lot to do to prepare for the upcoming Defense exam he was giving.
At dinner Marlina was still disappointed not to see Remus. It just wasn't like him to disappear like this and she was beginning to get concerned. Maybe something was wrong. She wanted to go and find him after dinner, but decided that it would be best not to bring Noah with her, and she wouldn't leave him alone in her rooms. She resolved to find Remus in the morning if she hadn't seen him by then to make sure he was alright.
Lorien was up at the crack of dawn and knocked on Remus's door after the sun had risen. She knew he would probably be in rough shape this morning and she wanted to do what she could to help.
Sirius unlocked the door and peeked out. He smiled when he saw it was just Lorien and he let her in. "Good morning." He said quietly.
"Good morning, Sirius." She replied, and then she turned to where Remus still lay on the floor.
He sat up slowly and held his head in his hands, and glanced up when the witch was kneeling next to him along with Sirius.
"Hi." He said hoarsely.
"Hi, yourself." She said. "Sirius let's get him to bed." The two of them helped Remus to his feet and into the bedroom.
Lorien sat on the edge of the bed as Sirius spoke. "You'll look after his headache?"
"Yes." She said, acknowledging Sirius without looking at him. Her attention was now on Remus.
"Alright. I'll be back later to check on you, Moony." Sirius said to Remus, and he waved once as he walked to the door.
Remus smiled weakly and managed a nod before Sirius left.
"Ready?" Lorien asked the exhausted looking werewolf.
"You have no idea." He said, in obvious discomfort.
Lorien placed her hands on his forehead and made the headaches recede once more. She could see Remus visibly relax as the pain faded, and he sank back against the pillow with relief.
Lorien spoke quietly as he looked back at her. "Bad this time, huh?"
"Yes." He said tiredly. "It varies from moon to moon."
"You should get some sleep." She said, as she brushed his hair out of his eyes unconsciously, and then suddenly she regretted the gesture of affection in case he misunderstood.
He opened his eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. "It's ok, Lorien." He winked. at her, and she knew it was alright.
Marlina raised her hand to knock on Remus's door the next morning and was startled when the door suddenly pulled opened. She was even more surprised when she saw that it was Lorien who stood in the open doorway looking as surprised as she felt.
"M-marlina." Lorien stammered and then recovered. "What are you doing here?" She tried to ask pleasantly.
Marlina tried to glance around Lorien as she answered. "I came to check on Remus. Is he alright?"
Lorien stepped into the hallway, quickly pulling the door closed behind her. "He's fine Marlina. Just a little under the weather."
"He's sick?" Marlina asked, sounding concerned. "Is there anything I can do?"
"No, thanks. I have it all under control." Lorien saw the way Marlina's eyes kept going back to the door and she took the other woman by the arm in a sisterly manner and led her away. "He really just needs to rest. He'll be fine."
Marlina wasn't stupid and she knew that Lorien was keeping her from going to Remus for a reason. - what she mistakenly thought was an obvious reason.
"Lorien, I'm sorry." She said, turning just a bit red. "I didn't mean to intrude. I was just worried, that's all."
"Intrude?" Lorien asked, wondering what prompted the woman to say that.
"Yes. I didn't realize that you and Remus were...together." Marlina said quietly.
Lorien saw how it could look that way to the woman that found her leaving Remus's chambers so early in the morning. She laughed. "Oh no. I assure you that I was here strictly in an official capacity." Lorien said. "Well, and as his friend." She smiled warmly at the red haired witch.
"I see." Marlina found that she was quite relieved that the blonde healer was only a good friend to Remus and she continued the conversation as they walked. "He thinks a lot of you, Lorien. You and Sirius. I can tell how important the two of you are to him when he speaks of you."
"I feel the same way about him." Lorien informed her. "He's just about the best friend anyone could ask for."
"I'm getting that feeling." Said Marlina as the two women walked along together. "He's been so incredibly nice to me and to Noah. He's really a wonderful person."
"That he is." Lorien agreed. She turned and looked Marlina in the eye. "You really like him don't you, Marlina?" She asked.
"Yes, of course. Who doesn't?" Marlina asked, turning a slightly darker shade of pink.
Lorien leaned toward the red head in a conspiratorial way. "I meant do you LIKE him?" She smiled as she saw the woman blush. "Oh, it's just us girls. You can tell me. I promise not to say anything." She said reassuringly.
Marlina decided to trust her and nodded. "I have to admit it, and he's so wonderful with Noah. My son adores him." She smiled at Lorien a little shyly and then laughed. "He's really cute too, don't you think?"
"Oh, absolutely." Lorien agreed, honestly. "And very smart." She added. "He's quite talented really."
Marlina laughed again. "How on earth has some witch not got her hands on him?"
Lorien shrugged as they walked along together. "I think he just hadn't found the right one yet."
A/N: For those of you who don't know, Irene is posting a translation of WWS in Spanish. Up to chapter 11 so far - Remus finds out about sex and the single werewolf. It's called 'Una Bruja, un Lobo, y una Serpiente. From what I can tell, the reviews indicate that the readers think she's doing a great job, and the reactions have pretty much been the same otherwise.
And to all of you that were brave enough to venture into The Potions Master's Other Plans, I hope that you found it was fun. (For all you diehard Remus fans, I at least made sure that I didn't leave you with a picture of Snape...how did Antinua put it?....starkers.) Thanks to all of you that reviewed there as well. You'll have noticed of course, that I was poking fun at Lorien (and myself) when I mentioned she was wearing blue underwear. It matches her blue nail polish. ;)
Being Siriusly Forward ~*~
Kaneene, her brother and her cousins had each spent seven years at Hogwarts, but they couldn't believe all the places in the castle they never knew about as they saw the secret passages and rooms also outlined on the Marauder's Map.
"This is unbelievable, Sirius." Keath commented as he watched the seven dots now gathered on the map labeled with each of their names. "Where did you ever get this?"
"Oh, some friends." Sirius answered vaguely as he watched Kaneene speaking with Evan, who was the next oldest Moody.
Evan nodded and Kaneene turned to Sirius. "We think that we should go and examine each of the secret passages to see about securing them. For now, at least."
"It's probably a good idea." Sirius agreed with mixed feelings about sealing all the hidden tunnels that he knew like the back of his hand.
"How many are there all together?" Asked Evan.
"Seven," said Sirius, "but this one here is caved in from what I hear." He indicated the tunnel.
"Ok. Evan, you and Dustan check this one and this one." Said Kaneene decisively. "Dixon, Brandon, you take these two. Keath and I will take these." She looked at Sirius. "You come with us."
The group split up.
The two Moodys and Sirius started with the passage that began at the whomping willow. After Sirius had shown them how to freeze the violent tree by poking the knot with a long stick, they crawled into the passageway. He explained to them where the passage came out, and together they agreed that this one should be sealed.
Keath stayed behind to perform the charm and drew the yellow string across the passageway that was required for the spell, while Kaneene moved on with Sirius to the third floor.
Draco Malfoy was angry with his mother. Once more he had asked her that she allow him to be transferred from Hogwarts to Durmstrang, but she had refused again as she had the other times. He was finding it difficult to cope with the way the other students, including many of those from his own house, had been treating him since his father went to Azkaban.
Even worse was the way they had acted toward him when his father had escaped, freed by the other Death Eaters and Voldemort himself.
Draco wandered the halls aimlessly while he thought.
It wasn't that he cared much what anyone else thought. He didn't, but it was the continual harassment and finger pointing that was beginning to wear on him.
Fine. If he had to stay at Hogwarts, then so be it. He would make the most of it. The tide was turning and he knew it was only a matter of time before he found a way to make them pay. The Gryffindors, Snape, everyone that he felt had ever wronged him.
Draco looked up as he heard voices nearing. He would have thought nothing of it until he heard a woman say something to 'Sirius.'
Sirius Black was here on the third floor, but why? He wanted to find out. Looking around quickly as the voices drew nearer, Draco saw the empty classroom. He ducked inside, leaving the door ajar the tiniest amount.
Black rounded the corner with the female auror and they walked halfway down the hall, almost to where he was in the classroom.
"This one goes where again?" The woman whispered.
"Honeydukes cellar." Black whispered back.
They stood before the statue of the one eyed witch and Sirius stepped forward to speak the opening charm after he had looked carefully around. Kaneene peered past him to watch the statue slide open.
"I'll go first." He said, and she watched as he barely squeezed himself through. He had remembered this being much easier as a teenager, but he still managed to slide neatly to the bottom and land on his feet. Realizing that Kaneene wouldn't be expecting the slide, he stood close to the bottom and called up to her.
Kaneene could tell that Sirius had called something back to her, but his voice was a little muffled and sounded distant as she pressed through the opening herself. She called back to him as she stepped into the passage. "What did you....whoa!" Her feet went out from beneath her and she slid rapidly downwards.
Sirius was peering back up the slide to see if he could tell what Kaneene was doing, and it was only a second or two before she collided with him and they ended up on the floor in a tumble.
Kaneene groaned and then attempted to untangle herself. "Why didn't you tell me about that?" She asked indignantly.
Sirius was on the floor beneath her laughing. "I did. I called back up to you." He continued to laugh.
"It's not funny." She scolded him.
"Are you hurt?" He asked, trying to seem less amused, and not succeeding very well.
"No." She admitted, realizing he had broken her fall.
"Well, then it's funny." He lay there still laughing as she hastily finished untangling herself, acutely aware of the fact that she was sprawled on top of him in a less than dignified way.
Kaneene was aware of that fact too, and she hurried to roll off of him and get to her feet. "You have an odd sense of humor, Black." She said, dusting herself off a bit.
He extended an arm upwards, signaling for her to help him up as he finally stopped laughing. She helped yank him to his feet, and he stood there close to her shaking his head and grinning. "I must be getting rusty," he said "to let an opportunity like that get by without doing anything about it."
"What opportunity?" She asked, eyes narrowing a tiny bit.
He gave her a calculating look. "You throwing yourself at me like that." He busied himself for a moment dusting the dirt off his robes.
"Throwing myself?" She asked incredulously.
He looked back up at her. "Yes, rather forward of you, don't you think, Miss Moody?" He was smiling and continuing to flirt.
She smiled back and put her hands on her hips. "I was not being forward, Black. You thought that was being forward?"
"Yes." He teased, giving her a roguish grin.
"Oh no." Kaneene replied. "THIS is being forward." She grabbed a large handful of the front of his robes and pushed him back a step against the wall as she reached up and kissed him soundly for several long seconds. She let go and smiled at him as he stayed where he was with his eyes closed. "Clear on that?" she asked.
"Perfectly." He croaked hoarsely.
"Right. Off we go then." She made her way down the passage, leaving Sirius wondering how she'd gotten the better of him at his own game.
Draco could no longer hear the distant muffled voices and he ventured a couple of steps out into the hall. He knew the significance of what he had seen and heard, and he knew just what to do with the information.
He decided that he was feeling a lot better about things when he finally left the third floor.
Monday night was when the headaches began. Remus was grading a large stack of essays at his desk, and he was finding it progressively more and more difficult to read anything. He struggled along for a while, but when he finally realized that he was reading the same passage on the parchment before him over and over without comprehending a thing, he pushed them aside and got up. He was going to have to find Lorien.
She was in her rooms and looked up when he entered. "Looks like a bad one." She simply said when she saw the pained expression he wore, and she patted the couch next to her.
Remus let himself drop weakly to sit next to her and was grateful as she placed her hands on him and made the headache recede.
He looked at her when she took her hands away. "Thank you. Nothing seems to help like that."
Lorien smiled, pleased that Remus was now feeling better. "Remus, please don't ever hesitate to ask for my help." She said.
"I won't." He smiled. "I hope you do know how much I appreciate it."
"I think I do. I have to tell you that I appreciate what you did for me as well. I'm sure it was a difficult conversation." She said. It was strange to bring that particular subject up, but she wanted him to know that she understood the lengths he had gone to for her.
"With Ariel?" Remus asked. "Not really." He chuckled at the thought of the Slytherin Astronomy witch potentially trussed up in her tower.
Lorien seemed a little surprised. "Wait, you talked to Sinistra?"
He nodded in the awkward moment that it dawned on him she was speaking of his other conversation. "That's not what you were talking about, is it?"
"No." Lorien shook her head. "I didn't know about Sinistra until just now."
Remus looked down a little. "How do you know I spoke to him?" He definitely felt strange now that she knew he'd approached Snape on her behalf.
Lorien shrugged. " He told me."
"He did?" Remus asked incredulously. He never suspected that Snape would ever tell her.
"Yes. Something about you knocking on his door in the middle of the night and calling him ...what was it?" She asked in an amused way. "Oh yes, a pathetic ass."
Remus tried to defend himself. "I didn't call him a pathetic ass. I told him that he should get the hell off his pathetic ass and do something about you before he screwed things up for good."
Lorien was smiling at the werewolf's defensive attitude. "Remus, I assure you that whatever it was that you called him does not begin to hold a candle to a few of the choice things that I called him."
Remus finally laughed. "So, are things.....better?" He asked quietly. It was awkward still to talk to her about this.
"Yes." She said softly. "Remus, about speaking to him? I would never have let you, had I known your intentions, but.....well, thank you." She put a hand on his.
"You're...happy?" He asked.
She hesitated to answer him, but then decided to be honest. "Yes."
"I'm very glad." He said sincerely and smiled at her.
"So, how are things going with Noah?" Lorien figured it was a not so obvious way to actually inquire about how things were going with Marlina.
"Great. The last week went really well." Remus replied. "He likes his lessons, he loves Hermione and the other the tutors, and most of the staff are raving about how well behaved he is and how much they enjoy him. I agree that we needn't worry about him being sufficiently educated while he's at Hogwarts."
"Marlina's happy?" Lorien asked casually.
"She's thrilled. It seems to be a great weight off her mind." He replied.
Lorien grinned, and could resist giving him a hard time no longer. "Thanks to the charming professor Remus Lupin coming to the rescue again." She teased.
Remus felt his face getting very warm.
Lorien laughed at him. "Oh, please. Stop being so embarrassed. I LIKE Marlina, Remus. I want you to be happy too. No one deserves to more." Lorien frowned suddenly and looked at him. "Remus, does she know?"
He shook his head. "No. Not yet I don't think."
"I have to tell you something, Remus." Lorien said, all of a sudden. "Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not trying to say anything bad about Marlina, but there's something very important you should know." She became quiet for a moment. "I think it's best if you know before she finds out."
"What is it?" He asked in a concerned way.
Lorien took a deep breath and let it back out. "It's about her husband." She began.
Remus panicked. "She's got a husband? I thought she wasn't married, at least not anymore. She's not wearing a ring. Noah never talks about his father. Why didn't anyone tell me about the husband?"
"Can I finish?" Lorien asked him, a bit irritated.
"Sorry." Remus said, piping back down.
Lorien continued her explanation. "Remus, Marlina's husband has been dead since just after Noah was born."
"Oh. I see." He said quietly. "So what do you need to tell me about him?"
Lorien didn't really want to tell him, but she felt it was best at this point if he knew. "He was killed when they both worked for the DRCMC."
"She worked for the Ministry?" Remus asked. "I thought she worked at the zoo."
"She worked at the zoo after the Ministry." Replied Lorien. "That's why she traveled so much." It took her a minute as he waited for her expectantly to be able to tell him about Marlina's past. "Remus, they both were part of the WCU." She said.
Remus felt his blood go cold. He knew exactly what the WCU was, and he had a bad feeling about what Lorien was going to say next.
"Remus," she gripped his hand again. "Marlin's husband was killed by a werewolf." It nearly broke her heart when she saw the defeated look cross his face at her news.
He sat there for a long moment holding her hand tightly and staring blankly at the couch. Finally his eyes met hers. "She hates them, doesn't she?"
"Yes, Remus," Lorien said. She didn't really want to admit it, but she knew he needed to know the truth. She tried to cheer him up a little. "But she doesn't hate you."
"That's because she doesn't know yet." Remus said softly.
Remus kept looking at Sirius in an odd way and it was beginning to get on his nerves. "Moony, what?" He asked from where he sat, casually watching the labeled dots on the map in front of him.
Remus perched on the edge of the desk as he spoke. "I talked to Lorien about Marlina today."
Sirius looked up after noting where the dot labeled Kaneene Moody was. "That's nice."
"Or I should say she talked to me." Remus replied, giving Sirius a meaningful look.
"About what?" Sirius asked, not really sure what Lupin's point was.
"About the fact that she used to be part of the WCU." Remus said.
Sirius winced. "She finally told you, huh?"
"You knew?" Remus started angrily. "You knew and you didn't tell me?"
Sirius frowned at Remus. "Look, I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner, but you never would have ever let yourself go anywhere near her or Noah, and think how much you'd be missing out on."
Remus knew he was right. "I'm going to have to tell her, Padfoot. If, that is, she doesn't find out some other way." He sighed. "You'll be there tomorrow?"
Sirius nodded.
Marlina kept glancing in the direction of Remus's classroom as she locked hers up for the day, and frowned when he didn't appear. He often waited for her and walked with her to get Noah at the end of classes, and he seemed to have disappeared this afternoon.
"Well, he can't spend all of his time escorting you around," she said to herself, figuring he probably had a lot to do to prepare for the upcoming Defense exam he was giving.
At dinner Marlina was still disappointed not to see Remus. It just wasn't like him to disappear like this and she was beginning to get concerned. Maybe something was wrong. She wanted to go and find him after dinner, but decided that it would be best not to bring Noah with her, and she wouldn't leave him alone in her rooms. She resolved to find Remus in the morning if she hadn't seen him by then to make sure he was alright.
Lorien was up at the crack of dawn and knocked on Remus's door after the sun had risen. She knew he would probably be in rough shape this morning and she wanted to do what she could to help.
Sirius unlocked the door and peeked out. He smiled when he saw it was just Lorien and he let her in. "Good morning." He said quietly.
"Good morning, Sirius." She replied, and then she turned to where Remus still lay on the floor.
He sat up slowly and held his head in his hands, and glanced up when the witch was kneeling next to him along with Sirius.
"Hi." He said hoarsely.
"Hi, yourself." She said. "Sirius let's get him to bed." The two of them helped Remus to his feet and into the bedroom.
Lorien sat on the edge of the bed as Sirius spoke. "You'll look after his headache?"
"Yes." She said, acknowledging Sirius without looking at him. Her attention was now on Remus.
"Alright. I'll be back later to check on you, Moony." Sirius said to Remus, and he waved once as he walked to the door.
Remus smiled weakly and managed a nod before Sirius left.
"Ready?" Lorien asked the exhausted looking werewolf.
"You have no idea." He said, in obvious discomfort.
Lorien placed her hands on his forehead and made the headaches recede once more. She could see Remus visibly relax as the pain faded, and he sank back against the pillow with relief.
Lorien spoke quietly as he looked back at her. "Bad this time, huh?"
"Yes." He said tiredly. "It varies from moon to moon."
"You should get some sleep." She said, as she brushed his hair out of his eyes unconsciously, and then suddenly she regretted the gesture of affection in case he misunderstood.
He opened his eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. "It's ok, Lorien." He winked. at her, and she knew it was alright.
Marlina raised her hand to knock on Remus's door the next morning and was startled when the door suddenly pulled opened. She was even more surprised when she saw that it was Lorien who stood in the open doorway looking as surprised as she felt.
"M-marlina." Lorien stammered and then recovered. "What are you doing here?" She tried to ask pleasantly.
Marlina tried to glance around Lorien as she answered. "I came to check on Remus. Is he alright?"
Lorien stepped into the hallway, quickly pulling the door closed behind her. "He's fine Marlina. Just a little under the weather."
"He's sick?" Marlina asked, sounding concerned. "Is there anything I can do?"
"No, thanks. I have it all under control." Lorien saw the way Marlina's eyes kept going back to the door and she took the other woman by the arm in a sisterly manner and led her away. "He really just needs to rest. He'll be fine."
Marlina wasn't stupid and she knew that Lorien was keeping her from going to Remus for a reason. - what she mistakenly thought was an obvious reason.
"Lorien, I'm sorry." She said, turning just a bit red. "I didn't mean to intrude. I was just worried, that's all."
"Intrude?" Lorien asked, wondering what prompted the woman to say that.
"Yes. I didn't realize that you and Remus were...together." Marlina said quietly.
Lorien saw how it could look that way to the woman that found her leaving Remus's chambers so early in the morning. She laughed. "Oh no. I assure you that I was here strictly in an official capacity." Lorien said. "Well, and as his friend." She smiled warmly at the red haired witch.
"I see." Marlina found that she was quite relieved that the blonde healer was only a good friend to Remus and she continued the conversation as they walked. "He thinks a lot of you, Lorien. You and Sirius. I can tell how important the two of you are to him when he speaks of you."
"I feel the same way about him." Lorien informed her. "He's just about the best friend anyone could ask for."
"I'm getting that feeling." Said Marlina as the two women walked along together. "He's been so incredibly nice to me and to Noah. He's really a wonderful person."
"That he is." Lorien agreed. She turned and looked Marlina in the eye. "You really like him don't you, Marlina?" She asked.
"Yes, of course. Who doesn't?" Marlina asked, turning a slightly darker shade of pink.
Lorien leaned toward the red head in a conspiratorial way. "I meant do you LIKE him?" She smiled as she saw the woman blush. "Oh, it's just us girls. You can tell me. I promise not to say anything." She said reassuringly.
Marlina decided to trust her and nodded. "I have to admit it, and he's so wonderful with Noah. My son adores him." She smiled at Lorien a little shyly and then laughed. "He's really cute too, don't you think?"
"Oh, absolutely." Lorien agreed, honestly. "And very smart." She added. "He's quite talented really."
Marlina laughed again. "How on earth has some witch not got her hands on him?"
Lorien shrugged as they walked along together. "I think he just hadn't found the right one yet."
A/N: For those of you who don't know, Irene is posting a translation of WWS in Spanish. Up to chapter 11 so far - Remus finds out about sex and the single werewolf. It's called 'Una Bruja, un Lobo, y una Serpiente. From what I can tell, the reviews indicate that the readers think she's doing a great job, and the reactions have pretty much been the same otherwise.
