Mala Zloca - where do you think Lorien got her name from, mellon?
Ariana - patience, we'll get to Sirius, I promise. ;)
Jig - Severus shall endeavor to convince you he is as suave as he pretends to be.
deSevera - The kids in line with me were delightfully horrified by the Slytherin colors. It was very fun. Definitely NOT ENOUGH Snape!!! (That's what we're here for.)
Snapefan51 - high five back at ya!
Bobbi - After over 515 combined reviews and dozens of e-mails since I posted the first chapter of WW&S, you are the only one to ever ask me that question!
Draco luver - the letter isn't from Sev. ;)
Aurors, Roses, and Pizza ~*~
Lorien left the courtyard to return to her rooms after the lesson, and was walking along the hall when she became aware of Kaneene Moody coming toward her, probably looking for Sirius.
'Great.' She thought to herself, hoping that Moody was just passing by. She didn't like dealing with the female auror since she always eyed Lorien suspiciously, and usually had a smart remark or two. The only person that Kaneene watched with greater mistrust was Snape, and Lorien was guilty in the auror's book by association. Lorien was sure that it didn't help that the woman seemed to be spending more and more time in the company of Sirius. She knew how Sirius was about Severus.
Lorien nodded to the woman as they neared one another but eyed her warily.
The dark haired auror nodded in acknowledgment. "Lorien." She said, and then walked on past.
'Good.' Lorien thought. She wasn't going to have to deal with another smart remark from that woman. Her thoughts were interrupted by Moody calling her name again.
"Lorien?"
Lorien stopped where she was, and mentally braced herself before she turned around. "Yes? What can I do for you, Kaneene?" She asked.
"Would you happen to have a minute?" Kaneene asked.
'Here we go. This should be good.' Lorien thought. "Of course. What is it you need?" She inquired.
"Is there somewhere we can talk?" The auror asked unexpectedly.
"My rooms are just down the hall. Would that do?" Lorien asked, surprised that the woman seemed to be making an effort not to be rude.
"That would be fine." Kaneene said quietly.
Lorien opened the door and Kaneene followed her inside, looking around as she entered. The auror let out a low whistle. "It kinda looks like somebody put a library in the middle of a small forest in here."
Lorien turned to stare at the witch, somewhat annoyed. "For your information, the plants have a very calming influence on my surroundings, and as for all the books, well, I guess that some of us just read more than others." She looked at the other woman pointedly.
The fact that Lorien had insinuated that Kaneene might not be that smart was not lost on the auror, and she decided that it was a fair enough remark after she had made the comment about her rooms.
Kaneene laughed a little. "I didn't mean anything by my comment, Lorien."
"Very well." Lorien said stiffly. "Shall we sit?"
Moody nodded and the two women were seated.
"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Lorien asked as her curiosity overcame her annoyance.
"Snape." Kaneene stated simply.
"Severus? What about him?" Lorien was immediately on guard.
Kaneene smiled a little as she saw the other woman quickly adopt a protective attitude. "Lorien, please don't be so defensive. I'm not out to get Snape for anything, I just wanted to talk to you about something he said to me."
"Alright." Lorien said, not totally trusting the woman.
"First," began Kaneene, "I believe I own you an apology."
"For what?" Lorien asked with obvious surprise.
Kaneene knew the other woman wouldn't be expecting her answer, and she continued. "For the way I've been assuming you were probably guilty of a lot of things you probably aren't, just because of your relationship with Snape. It wasn't fair of me to jump to some of the conclusions that I made about you, and I apologize. I usually am a very tolerant person, but I guess I've been a little put off by the fact that you associate so freely with a former Death Eater."
Lorien still watched her carefully. "I guess I can see where an auror can have a bit of a blind spot about such a thing." She said, trying to sound like she was being understanding.
Kaneene shrugged. "Yes, well I think my blind spot concerning him has been rather a large one. I guess I've had a bit of trouble dealing with the concept that a Death Eater could ever be considered trustworthy."
"I assure you he is. I'm surprised that you don't think so after he did so much to help the aurors at Halloween." Lorien replied.
"I know. I haven't given him enough credit." Kaneene smiled warmly at Lorien. "I guess it's a lot easier to picture the good guys being someone like Remus Lupin."
Lorien tensed immediately, but then could sense that Kaneene meant nothing malicious by her comment, and was merely making a point. She relaxed a bit and nodded. "You just have to know him, Kaneene. I admit that Severus does paint a dark picture at times, but it doesn't mean that he's an evil wizard." Lorien finally smiled. "Although I bet his students would beg to differ."
Kaneene laughed at the woman's willingness to make light of the uncomfortable situation.
"So why the sudden change of heart?" Lorien asked curiously. Most of her cautious attitude was gone.
"I had my perspective updated last night." Kaneene replied slowly.
"Sorry?"
"A conversation I had with Snape." She explained, and looked directly at Lorien. "Did you know about Keath?" She asked.
Lorien frowned for a moment. "Keath? What about him?"
"So you don't know." Said Kaneene softly. She related the conversation she had with Snape the night before. "Evidently the reason Keath even got a chance to make it to the hospital was because of Snape giving him a potion."
"What potion?" Lorien asked. This was the first she had heard of such a thing.
"He said it was a class IV restorative. Highly dangerous and quite illegal if my memory serves me." Moody actually sounded amused.
Lorien shook her head and then buried her face in her hands for a moment.
Kaneene could see her shoulders shaking and thought at first that the woman might be crying, but when Lorien looked up it was evident she was actually laughing. "So are you alternating between being horrified and grateful like I am right now?" She finally asked Kaneene.
Kaneene nodded. "Mostly just grateful at this point, which is also why I wanted to talk to you. I want to know how to go about thanking him. What do you think?"
Lorien shrugged. "Why don't you just say 'thank you'?" She answered. "He appreciates directness, so you don't have to worry about how you say it. Just say it."
"That's all, huh? You make it sound easy." Kaneene said.
"It won't be. Nothing ever is with him." Lorien sighed as she realized how true that often was. "My advice would be to make it a point to go to his office or rooms to find him. He'll be annoyed as anything at first, but he'll appreciate the fact that you made the effort later." She said.
"You're really going to make me work, aren't you?" Kaneene asked, disliking the idea of pursuing Snape into the dungeon.
"Mm hmm. While you're there, that apology you gave me about assuming guilt wouldn't hurt either." Added Lorien .
"I know." Kaneene replied and sighed. She stood to leave. "Thanks for the advice, Lorien."
"Thank you for the apology. I think it will be good if you and I can get along, Kaneene, since we're both friends with Sirius." Lorien smiled knowingly at the other woman.
Kaneene blushed a little and returned the smile. "I think you're right."
Ginny Weasley was just about beside herself with excitement that afternoon, and she had to tell somebody why, so she quickly headed to the library to find Hermione. She spotted her among a stack of books piled on the table in front of her, and Ginny shook her head at the fact that the place was nearly deserted except for a handful of upper class Ravenclaws. Hermione was the only one she knew that could be studying in the library on Saturday morning, and on Valentine's day of all days.
Hermione didn't even look up from the chapter she was absorbed in until Ginny cleared her throat.
"Hermione, what are you doing?" Ginny asked, smiling at her friend.
"It looks to me like I'm studying." Hermione said, just a bit of irritation creeping into her voice.
Ginny sat down across from her. "Give it a rest, would you?" She said good naturedly. "It's Saturday, there are no exams on the horizon, and it's Valentine's day for Merlin's sake."
Hermione sighed and then shut the volume in front of her. "You're not going to leave me in peace, are you?" She asked, now smiling a little.
"No." Ginny admitted. She looked around to make sure no one was nearby to overhear her. "You're never going to believe who sent me a Valentine." She whispered excitedly.
Hermione stretched a little and yawned as she looked at Ginny. "Who?" She asked casually, but then she snapped to as she realized what the sparkle in Ginny's eye meant. "No!" She whispered back.
"Yes!" Ginny said, still beaming.
"Harry?" Hermione asked, still finding it hard to believe.
Ginny nodded.
"What did he send you?" Hermione asked, now very interested in her friend's news. She definitely needed the details if she were going to be able to give Harry a hard time later on.
Ginny sighed and handed Hermione the card. All it said was "Happy Valentine's Day - Harry" on it. Less than impressive, Hermione thought. Evidently her feeling was evident on her face, because Ginny spoke up again. "It's not what he wrote, 'Mione." She said, still smiling. "It's that the note came with FLOWERS!" She said.
Hermione's mouth dropped open. "Flowers? Are you serious?" Harry send flowers? On Valentine's Day? Hermione had the sneaking suspicion that Sirius must have had a hand in convincing Harry to actually go through with it, but she said nothing to Ginny.
"Mmm hmm. A dozen red and gold roses." Ginny said.
'Not bad there, Potter.' Hermione thought. She hated to admit that the fact Ginny had gotten flowers from someone, and she herself had not, bothered her just a tiny bit. Oh well. At least she was happy for Ginny.
"Come on, you've got to see them." Ginny said, standing and expecting Hermione to follow.
Hermione agreed and gathered up her things. She knew Ginny well enough to know that resistance was futile, and she might as well give up and go now.
The two girls were walking back toward the staircase to Gryffindor tower, heads together talking about who else they knew that had gotten Valentines when they spotted the group of aurors standing together and talking. Ginny whispered to Hermione as they neared the group of men. "Now there's a sight for sore eyes." She said slyly.
Hermione smiled a little, knowing as well as Ginny did that there wasn't a bad-looking Moody in the lot, and nodded. "Not one that's hard to look at." She said back, eliciting a snicker from Ginny.
"I wouldn't mind getting a Valentine from the tall one." Ginny whispered, indicating Evan Moody. "I'll take him for the day if you don't mind."
"Harry might." Hermione teased. "Besides, isn't he a bit old for you, Gin?" She continued, knowing the oldest of the group was nearly as old as Sirius.
"Not for looking." Ginny replied, laughing a little as they got closer. "All right, 'Mione. What about that one?" Ginny indicated the youngest of the aurors standing with his cousins. "You've got to love the green eyes." She added, prodding Hermione a bit. "What's his name?"
Hermione whispered quietly as they got closer to the group. "Keath. He's Kaneene's brother and the youngest Moody." Hermione said, discreetly eyeing the man along with Ginny. They were about to take the stairs when the group noticed them passing. All of the men glanced at them briefly as they continued their conversation, but it was the youngest Moody that saw the two girls together and gave them a charming smile before turning back to the group he was with.
Ginny and Hermione force themselves to walk up the first few flights of stairs before they grinned at each other.
"Not bad." Said Ginny. "Not bad at all."
Hermione hadn't really thought that much about it before, but she found that she couldn't disagree. "Well, the way I see it," she said as they reached the fat lady, "if they're going to have the grounds patrolled by aurors, the least they can do is send us ones that look like that."
Ginny nodded in hearty agreement. "Montague and Capulet." She spoke the password that had been changed in honor of the day, and the two young witches went to the girls dorm together to see Ginny's flowers.
Remus waited that evening for Marlina to arrive at his rooms. They had planned for her to leave Noah with Sirius right across the hall, and that way if there were any problems with the boy she would be close at hand.
He paced as he waited, thinking that he wanted to make a good impression on her but knowing in the back of his mind that there was a difficult conversation they were going to have sooner or later. He didn't know yet if tonight would be the night to bring it up. He'd have to wait and see how things played out.
His musings were interrupted by the sound of Marlina and Noah talking to Sirius in the hallway. The boy sounded excited about the prospect of hanging out with the older Gryffindor for the evening, and Sirius and Marlina were laughing at something.
Remus poked his head outside the door. "Hey! Keep it down out here." He said and then laughed.
"Hi, Remus!" Noah was pleased to see his friend.
"Hi, Noah. You're going to keep Sirius out of trouble for a few hours for me, aren't you?" Remus asked the boy.
Noah nodded. "I'll watch him." He said somewhat seriously.
"Come on, Noah." Sirius called. "We want to be ready."
"Ready for what?" Noah asked.
"Ron and Harry will be here in a while. They're going to help me teach you how to play exploding snap." Replied Sirius.
Noah just couldn't have thought Sirius was any cooler at that point.
Marlina followed Remus across the hall and sank onto the couch when he offered her a seat. She looked a little relieved.
"I absolutely love my son, but it's going to be nice to have a little break." Marlina said with a smile, and she let her head fall against the back of the couch.
"Sirius will watch him carefully. He's an excellent baby-sitter. He even used to watch Harry as an infant once in a while before..." Remus trailed off.
Marlina nodded. She understood what he was getting at.
Remus brightened again quickly. "So, are you hungry?"
"Starving." She replied.
"Good." He opened a butterbeer and handed it to her, and then opened one for himself. "Ever had pizza?" He asked her, after he had taken a sip.
"Peetsa?" She looked puzzled.
Remus smiled. He had gambled on the likelihood that Marlina had probably not encountered the muggle invention before, and was glad that he would be able to introduce her to it for the first time.
Marlina watched curiously as he set a flat square box on the small dining table. "Where did you get that?" She asked, rising and walking to where he was to get a better look.
"You always want to know all my secrets." Remus complained.
"I see. You prefer to maintain an air of mystery." Marlina quipped back.
Remus smiled and then suddenly looked concerned. "You're not a vegetarian, are you?"
"Oh, not at all." She replied.
"Good." Remus opened the box and Marlina peered in. It smelled wonderful, and they sat down together for Marlina to try her first pepperoni pizza.
"So this is muggle food?" She asked between bites.
"Yes. What do you think?" Remus asked and took a bite of his own piece and watched her reaction.
"I think you're going to have to tell me where you got it. Noah would love this!" She said. She enthusiastically turned her attention back to the slice poised in front of her face.
"I figured he might. You'll have to ask him if he liked the one that I sent with Sirius." Remus replied.
"What nice guys." Marlina looked pleased. "You two are something else." She said.
"I'm the nice guy." Remus said with his mouth full, pointing at himself. "He's something else." He said and then laughed. Marlina laughed with him.
Remus changed the topic of conversation. "So, how is it that you ended up teaching here, Marlina?"
"Marlie." She said.
"Sorry?"
"Call me Marlie. Marlina is so formal." She answered, and she gave him a sweet smile.
"Ok, Marlie." He smiled back, thinking that was a good sign.
"I just needed a change of pace after the zoo." She said, reaching in the box for another slice of pizza. "I've always wanted to instruct."
"So you were at the zoo for how long?" Remus asked, wanting to see what else he could learn about her past.
"Almost six years." She replied. " I actually worked for the Ministry before that."
"Really? Doing what?" Remus feigned ignorance.
"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you." She said slyly.
"Try me." Remus said. It came out calmer than he felt now that they were getting around to that particular topic.
"I used to work for the DRCMC." She said casually between bites of pizza. "Werewolf Capture Unit." She added with her mouth a bit full.
Remus choked on his butterbeer when he actually heard her say the words. "Really?" He gagged the word out and coughed a few more times.
"I told you it would be hard to believe." Marlina said in an amused voice.
Remus coughed one last time. "So you must know Tenny Offut." He asked tentatively. Damn! Why had he asked her that? 'Good job, Lupin.' He thought, knowing he was now going to have to explain how he knew the woman. He mentally kicked himself.
"At Werewolf Support Services?" Marlina sounded surprised. "Of course! She and I go way back. How do you know her, Remus?" She asked. "Oh, wait." Realization dawned on her as she thought about it. "She was in your class at school."
Remus nodded, glad to be able to avoid saying how he had really come to know Offut. "She's a wonderful, caring person." He said instead. "Practically a saint."
"Yeah, well you'd have to be do deal with all the things that she has to cope with, and let me tell you, not everyone in that department is as compassionate as she is." Marlina said soberly.
"I can imagine." Remus said, already knowing it was true. "How did you end up with the WCU instead of WSS?" He asked curiously.
"I was good at it." She said quietly.
"What?" He asked, not sure he really wanted to know.
"Bringing them in. No one was better at tracking down the rogues than I was." Marlina said solemnly.
Remus knew what a rogue werewolf was. There were many lycanthropes that never learned to cope psychologically with their curse, and there were times that dealing with the painful transformations and all the emotional baggage that came with the associated rejection and discrimination became overwhelming. Often the distraught individuals just stopped caring about taking precautions to find wolfsbane potion or to lock themselves up, and when the next full moon rose they ran rampant, uncontrolled and uncaring, posing a serious danger to others and often to themselves.
Most of the time, if the rogue could be caught before any tragedy struck, there was hope for rehabilitation, but it often had a poor success rate, and many ended up running loose as a rogue again. If the werewolf in question hurt or killed anyone on the first offense, or went rogue a second time, it was all over. The Beast Division of the DRCMC had extremely strict regulations concerning this, and the pitiful wretches were usually put to death.
Remus certainly could understand why so many of the werewolves out there eventually succumbed to depression, apathy and suicide, but had never been in danger of becoming a rogue himself. It wasn't that he didn't have issues at times in his life with being a lycanthrope, but unlike most of the afflicted individuals out there he'd had thirty years to learn to cope. Few werewolves were created when the victim was as young as he had been when he was bitten, and most children that were ever attacked never even survived.
Remus felt awful that the conversation had taken a turn in this direction and he decided that he would change the subject. For now.
A/N: Next chapter - the second half of the date, and I get brave and deal with Snape and Valentine's day.
About Remus's classmate that works at Werewolf Support Services, Tenny Offut. Her name comes from Offut Lake Road in Tenino, WA where Wolf Haven International is. There reside my two adopted wolves, Akela, and Noah.
Hey Captain! That's not far from your neighborhood!
And for those of you that want proof of Sirius as a babysitter for Harry - try this http://www.chamberofkeys.com/BabyHarry_Sirius.jpg
The artist is Kristin over at Chamber of Keys. She has some other really cool fan art too!
Ariana - patience, we'll get to Sirius, I promise. ;)
Jig - Severus shall endeavor to convince you he is as suave as he pretends to be.
deSevera - The kids in line with me were delightfully horrified by the Slytherin colors. It was very fun. Definitely NOT ENOUGH Snape!!! (That's what we're here for.)
Snapefan51 - high five back at ya!
Bobbi - After over 515 combined reviews and dozens of e-mails since I posted the first chapter of WW&S, you are the only one to ever ask me that question!
Draco luver - the letter isn't from Sev. ;)
Aurors, Roses, and Pizza ~*~
Lorien left the courtyard to return to her rooms after the lesson, and was walking along the hall when she became aware of Kaneene Moody coming toward her, probably looking for Sirius.
'Great.' She thought to herself, hoping that Moody was just passing by. She didn't like dealing with the female auror since she always eyed Lorien suspiciously, and usually had a smart remark or two. The only person that Kaneene watched with greater mistrust was Snape, and Lorien was guilty in the auror's book by association. Lorien was sure that it didn't help that the woman seemed to be spending more and more time in the company of Sirius. She knew how Sirius was about Severus.
Lorien nodded to the woman as they neared one another but eyed her warily.
The dark haired auror nodded in acknowledgment. "Lorien." She said, and then walked on past.
'Good.' Lorien thought. She wasn't going to have to deal with another smart remark from that woman. Her thoughts were interrupted by Moody calling her name again.
"Lorien?"
Lorien stopped where she was, and mentally braced herself before she turned around. "Yes? What can I do for you, Kaneene?" She asked.
"Would you happen to have a minute?" Kaneene asked.
'Here we go. This should be good.' Lorien thought. "Of course. What is it you need?" She inquired.
"Is there somewhere we can talk?" The auror asked unexpectedly.
"My rooms are just down the hall. Would that do?" Lorien asked, surprised that the woman seemed to be making an effort not to be rude.
"That would be fine." Kaneene said quietly.
Lorien opened the door and Kaneene followed her inside, looking around as she entered. The auror let out a low whistle. "It kinda looks like somebody put a library in the middle of a small forest in here."
Lorien turned to stare at the witch, somewhat annoyed. "For your information, the plants have a very calming influence on my surroundings, and as for all the books, well, I guess that some of us just read more than others." She looked at the other woman pointedly.
The fact that Lorien had insinuated that Kaneene might not be that smart was not lost on the auror, and she decided that it was a fair enough remark after she had made the comment about her rooms.
Kaneene laughed a little. "I didn't mean anything by my comment, Lorien."
"Very well." Lorien said stiffly. "Shall we sit?"
Moody nodded and the two women were seated.
"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Lorien asked as her curiosity overcame her annoyance.
"Snape." Kaneene stated simply.
"Severus? What about him?" Lorien was immediately on guard.
Kaneene smiled a little as she saw the other woman quickly adopt a protective attitude. "Lorien, please don't be so defensive. I'm not out to get Snape for anything, I just wanted to talk to you about something he said to me."
"Alright." Lorien said, not totally trusting the woman.
"First," began Kaneene, "I believe I own you an apology."
"For what?" Lorien asked with obvious surprise.
Kaneene knew the other woman wouldn't be expecting her answer, and she continued. "For the way I've been assuming you were probably guilty of a lot of things you probably aren't, just because of your relationship with Snape. It wasn't fair of me to jump to some of the conclusions that I made about you, and I apologize. I usually am a very tolerant person, but I guess I've been a little put off by the fact that you associate so freely with a former Death Eater."
Lorien still watched her carefully. "I guess I can see where an auror can have a bit of a blind spot about such a thing." She said, trying to sound like she was being understanding.
Kaneene shrugged. "Yes, well I think my blind spot concerning him has been rather a large one. I guess I've had a bit of trouble dealing with the concept that a Death Eater could ever be considered trustworthy."
"I assure you he is. I'm surprised that you don't think so after he did so much to help the aurors at Halloween." Lorien replied.
"I know. I haven't given him enough credit." Kaneene smiled warmly at Lorien. "I guess it's a lot easier to picture the good guys being someone like Remus Lupin."
Lorien tensed immediately, but then could sense that Kaneene meant nothing malicious by her comment, and was merely making a point. She relaxed a bit and nodded. "You just have to know him, Kaneene. I admit that Severus does paint a dark picture at times, but it doesn't mean that he's an evil wizard." Lorien finally smiled. "Although I bet his students would beg to differ."
Kaneene laughed at the woman's willingness to make light of the uncomfortable situation.
"So why the sudden change of heart?" Lorien asked curiously. Most of her cautious attitude was gone.
"I had my perspective updated last night." Kaneene replied slowly.
"Sorry?"
"A conversation I had with Snape." She explained, and looked directly at Lorien. "Did you know about Keath?" She asked.
Lorien frowned for a moment. "Keath? What about him?"
"So you don't know." Said Kaneene softly. She related the conversation she had with Snape the night before. "Evidently the reason Keath even got a chance to make it to the hospital was because of Snape giving him a potion."
"What potion?" Lorien asked. This was the first she had heard of such a thing.
"He said it was a class IV restorative. Highly dangerous and quite illegal if my memory serves me." Moody actually sounded amused.
Lorien shook her head and then buried her face in her hands for a moment.
Kaneene could see her shoulders shaking and thought at first that the woman might be crying, but when Lorien looked up it was evident she was actually laughing. "So are you alternating between being horrified and grateful like I am right now?" She finally asked Kaneene.
Kaneene nodded. "Mostly just grateful at this point, which is also why I wanted to talk to you. I want to know how to go about thanking him. What do you think?"
Lorien shrugged. "Why don't you just say 'thank you'?" She answered. "He appreciates directness, so you don't have to worry about how you say it. Just say it."
"That's all, huh? You make it sound easy." Kaneene said.
"It won't be. Nothing ever is with him." Lorien sighed as she realized how true that often was. "My advice would be to make it a point to go to his office or rooms to find him. He'll be annoyed as anything at first, but he'll appreciate the fact that you made the effort later." She said.
"You're really going to make me work, aren't you?" Kaneene asked, disliking the idea of pursuing Snape into the dungeon.
"Mm hmm. While you're there, that apology you gave me about assuming guilt wouldn't hurt either." Added Lorien .
"I know." Kaneene replied and sighed. She stood to leave. "Thanks for the advice, Lorien."
"Thank you for the apology. I think it will be good if you and I can get along, Kaneene, since we're both friends with Sirius." Lorien smiled knowingly at the other woman.
Kaneene blushed a little and returned the smile. "I think you're right."
Ginny Weasley was just about beside herself with excitement that afternoon, and she had to tell somebody why, so she quickly headed to the library to find Hermione. She spotted her among a stack of books piled on the table in front of her, and Ginny shook her head at the fact that the place was nearly deserted except for a handful of upper class Ravenclaws. Hermione was the only one she knew that could be studying in the library on Saturday morning, and on Valentine's day of all days.
Hermione didn't even look up from the chapter she was absorbed in until Ginny cleared her throat.
"Hermione, what are you doing?" Ginny asked, smiling at her friend.
"It looks to me like I'm studying." Hermione said, just a bit of irritation creeping into her voice.
Ginny sat down across from her. "Give it a rest, would you?" She said good naturedly. "It's Saturday, there are no exams on the horizon, and it's Valentine's day for Merlin's sake."
Hermione sighed and then shut the volume in front of her. "You're not going to leave me in peace, are you?" She asked, now smiling a little.
"No." Ginny admitted. She looked around to make sure no one was nearby to overhear her. "You're never going to believe who sent me a Valentine." She whispered excitedly.
Hermione stretched a little and yawned as she looked at Ginny. "Who?" She asked casually, but then she snapped to as she realized what the sparkle in Ginny's eye meant. "No!" She whispered back.
"Yes!" Ginny said, still beaming.
"Harry?" Hermione asked, still finding it hard to believe.
Ginny nodded.
"What did he send you?" Hermione asked, now very interested in her friend's news. She definitely needed the details if she were going to be able to give Harry a hard time later on.
Ginny sighed and handed Hermione the card. All it said was "Happy Valentine's Day - Harry" on it. Less than impressive, Hermione thought. Evidently her feeling was evident on her face, because Ginny spoke up again. "It's not what he wrote, 'Mione." She said, still smiling. "It's that the note came with FLOWERS!" She said.
Hermione's mouth dropped open. "Flowers? Are you serious?" Harry send flowers? On Valentine's Day? Hermione had the sneaking suspicion that Sirius must have had a hand in convincing Harry to actually go through with it, but she said nothing to Ginny.
"Mmm hmm. A dozen red and gold roses." Ginny said.
'Not bad there, Potter.' Hermione thought. She hated to admit that the fact Ginny had gotten flowers from someone, and she herself had not, bothered her just a tiny bit. Oh well. At least she was happy for Ginny.
"Come on, you've got to see them." Ginny said, standing and expecting Hermione to follow.
Hermione agreed and gathered up her things. She knew Ginny well enough to know that resistance was futile, and she might as well give up and go now.
The two girls were walking back toward the staircase to Gryffindor tower, heads together talking about who else they knew that had gotten Valentines when they spotted the group of aurors standing together and talking. Ginny whispered to Hermione as they neared the group of men. "Now there's a sight for sore eyes." She said slyly.
Hermione smiled a little, knowing as well as Ginny did that there wasn't a bad-looking Moody in the lot, and nodded. "Not one that's hard to look at." She said back, eliciting a snicker from Ginny.
"I wouldn't mind getting a Valentine from the tall one." Ginny whispered, indicating Evan Moody. "I'll take him for the day if you don't mind."
"Harry might." Hermione teased. "Besides, isn't he a bit old for you, Gin?" She continued, knowing the oldest of the group was nearly as old as Sirius.
"Not for looking." Ginny replied, laughing a little as they got closer. "All right, 'Mione. What about that one?" Ginny indicated the youngest of the aurors standing with his cousins. "You've got to love the green eyes." She added, prodding Hermione a bit. "What's his name?"
Hermione whispered quietly as they got closer to the group. "Keath. He's Kaneene's brother and the youngest Moody." Hermione said, discreetly eyeing the man along with Ginny. They were about to take the stairs when the group noticed them passing. All of the men glanced at them briefly as they continued their conversation, but it was the youngest Moody that saw the two girls together and gave them a charming smile before turning back to the group he was with.
Ginny and Hermione force themselves to walk up the first few flights of stairs before they grinned at each other.
"Not bad." Said Ginny. "Not bad at all."
Hermione hadn't really thought that much about it before, but she found that she couldn't disagree. "Well, the way I see it," she said as they reached the fat lady, "if they're going to have the grounds patrolled by aurors, the least they can do is send us ones that look like that."
Ginny nodded in hearty agreement. "Montague and Capulet." She spoke the password that had been changed in honor of the day, and the two young witches went to the girls dorm together to see Ginny's flowers.
Remus waited that evening for Marlina to arrive at his rooms. They had planned for her to leave Noah with Sirius right across the hall, and that way if there were any problems with the boy she would be close at hand.
He paced as he waited, thinking that he wanted to make a good impression on her but knowing in the back of his mind that there was a difficult conversation they were going to have sooner or later. He didn't know yet if tonight would be the night to bring it up. He'd have to wait and see how things played out.
His musings were interrupted by the sound of Marlina and Noah talking to Sirius in the hallway. The boy sounded excited about the prospect of hanging out with the older Gryffindor for the evening, and Sirius and Marlina were laughing at something.
Remus poked his head outside the door. "Hey! Keep it down out here." He said and then laughed.
"Hi, Remus!" Noah was pleased to see his friend.
"Hi, Noah. You're going to keep Sirius out of trouble for a few hours for me, aren't you?" Remus asked the boy.
Noah nodded. "I'll watch him." He said somewhat seriously.
"Come on, Noah." Sirius called. "We want to be ready."
"Ready for what?" Noah asked.
"Ron and Harry will be here in a while. They're going to help me teach you how to play exploding snap." Replied Sirius.
Noah just couldn't have thought Sirius was any cooler at that point.
Marlina followed Remus across the hall and sank onto the couch when he offered her a seat. She looked a little relieved.
"I absolutely love my son, but it's going to be nice to have a little break." Marlina said with a smile, and she let her head fall against the back of the couch.
"Sirius will watch him carefully. He's an excellent baby-sitter. He even used to watch Harry as an infant once in a while before..." Remus trailed off.
Marlina nodded. She understood what he was getting at.
Remus brightened again quickly. "So, are you hungry?"
"Starving." She replied.
"Good." He opened a butterbeer and handed it to her, and then opened one for himself. "Ever had pizza?" He asked her, after he had taken a sip.
"Peetsa?" She looked puzzled.
Remus smiled. He had gambled on the likelihood that Marlina had probably not encountered the muggle invention before, and was glad that he would be able to introduce her to it for the first time.
Marlina watched curiously as he set a flat square box on the small dining table. "Where did you get that?" She asked, rising and walking to where he was to get a better look.
"You always want to know all my secrets." Remus complained.
"I see. You prefer to maintain an air of mystery." Marlina quipped back.
Remus smiled and then suddenly looked concerned. "You're not a vegetarian, are you?"
"Oh, not at all." She replied.
"Good." Remus opened the box and Marlina peered in. It smelled wonderful, and they sat down together for Marlina to try her first pepperoni pizza.
"So this is muggle food?" She asked between bites.
"Yes. What do you think?" Remus asked and took a bite of his own piece and watched her reaction.
"I think you're going to have to tell me where you got it. Noah would love this!" She said. She enthusiastically turned her attention back to the slice poised in front of her face.
"I figured he might. You'll have to ask him if he liked the one that I sent with Sirius." Remus replied.
"What nice guys." Marlina looked pleased. "You two are something else." She said.
"I'm the nice guy." Remus said with his mouth full, pointing at himself. "He's something else." He said and then laughed. Marlina laughed with him.
Remus changed the topic of conversation. "So, how is it that you ended up teaching here, Marlina?"
"Marlie." She said.
"Sorry?"
"Call me Marlie. Marlina is so formal." She answered, and she gave him a sweet smile.
"Ok, Marlie." He smiled back, thinking that was a good sign.
"I just needed a change of pace after the zoo." She said, reaching in the box for another slice of pizza. "I've always wanted to instruct."
"So you were at the zoo for how long?" Remus asked, wanting to see what else he could learn about her past.
"Almost six years." She replied. " I actually worked for the Ministry before that."
"Really? Doing what?" Remus feigned ignorance.
"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you." She said slyly.
"Try me." Remus said. It came out calmer than he felt now that they were getting around to that particular topic.
"I used to work for the DRCMC." She said casually between bites of pizza. "Werewolf Capture Unit." She added with her mouth a bit full.
Remus choked on his butterbeer when he actually heard her say the words. "Really?" He gagged the word out and coughed a few more times.
"I told you it would be hard to believe." Marlina said in an amused voice.
Remus coughed one last time. "So you must know Tenny Offut." He asked tentatively. Damn! Why had he asked her that? 'Good job, Lupin.' He thought, knowing he was now going to have to explain how he knew the woman. He mentally kicked himself.
"At Werewolf Support Services?" Marlina sounded surprised. "Of course! She and I go way back. How do you know her, Remus?" She asked. "Oh, wait." Realization dawned on her as she thought about it. "She was in your class at school."
Remus nodded, glad to be able to avoid saying how he had really come to know Offut. "She's a wonderful, caring person." He said instead. "Practically a saint."
"Yeah, well you'd have to be do deal with all the things that she has to cope with, and let me tell you, not everyone in that department is as compassionate as she is." Marlina said soberly.
"I can imagine." Remus said, already knowing it was true. "How did you end up with the WCU instead of WSS?" He asked curiously.
"I was good at it." She said quietly.
"What?" He asked, not sure he really wanted to know.
"Bringing them in. No one was better at tracking down the rogues than I was." Marlina said solemnly.
Remus knew what a rogue werewolf was. There were many lycanthropes that never learned to cope psychologically with their curse, and there were times that dealing with the painful transformations and all the emotional baggage that came with the associated rejection and discrimination became overwhelming. Often the distraught individuals just stopped caring about taking precautions to find wolfsbane potion or to lock themselves up, and when the next full moon rose they ran rampant, uncontrolled and uncaring, posing a serious danger to others and often to themselves.
Most of the time, if the rogue could be caught before any tragedy struck, there was hope for rehabilitation, but it often had a poor success rate, and many ended up running loose as a rogue again. If the werewolf in question hurt or killed anyone on the first offense, or went rogue a second time, it was all over. The Beast Division of the DRCMC had extremely strict regulations concerning this, and the pitiful wretches were usually put to death.
Remus certainly could understand why so many of the werewolves out there eventually succumbed to depression, apathy and suicide, but had never been in danger of becoming a rogue himself. It wasn't that he didn't have issues at times in his life with being a lycanthrope, but unlike most of the afflicted individuals out there he'd had thirty years to learn to cope. Few werewolves were created when the victim was as young as he had been when he was bitten, and most children that were ever attacked never even survived.
Remus felt awful that the conversation had taken a turn in this direction and he decided that he would change the subject. For now.
A/N: Next chapter - the second half of the date, and I get brave and deal with Snape and Valentine's day.
About Remus's classmate that works at Werewolf Support Services, Tenny Offut. Her name comes from Offut Lake Road in Tenino, WA where Wolf Haven International is. There reside my two adopted wolves, Akela, and Noah.
Hey Captain! That's not far from your neighborhood!
And for those of you that want proof of Sirius as a babysitter for Harry - try this http://www.chamberofkeys.com/BabyHarry_Sirius.jpg
The artist is Kristin over at Chamber of Keys. She has some other really cool fan art too!
