A.N.—This is a little present-time interlude, kinda sweet, kinda angsty.

By the way, if anyone's wondering, Celina is just pronounced "Selena" but I felt like spelling it differently.

Chapter Seven

Just before Christmas, Alexandra finally worked up the nerve to contact Remus. When his face appeared in the fireplace, she was amazed at how old he looked. If her memories served her correctly, he was only thirty-five, yet he looked at least forty. But then, time and hardship had taken their toll on her as well.

She managed to smile at him. "Hello, Remus. You're looking well."

"Still haven't learned how to lie convincingly, have you, Ally?" He gave her a shy, self-deprecating smile, making him look for a moment just like the insecure teenager they had all been so fond of. "How are you?"

She shrugged gently. "As well as I've ever been in the last twelve years. What about you? You're Isadora's favorite teacher, you know. She says you're 'cool'."

Remus blushed. "She's a wonderful student. A bit of a troublemaker, though."

"You can thank Celina for that, not me."

He chuckled. "How is Cel, anyway?"

"Cel is..." Ally searched for an appropriate adjective. "Well, she's Cel. You haven't seen her in what...three years? She got a snake tattooed across her entire left arm on her last birthday. Owns a flat in London and sings in nightclubs. She's a bad influence on Izzie, so of course Izzie adores her."

They talked for a few minutes about trivial matters. They both avoided mentioning Sirius, for which Ally was glad. She hadn't contacted him after all these years just to fight again. Finally, she brought up the subject she had called him about.

"Remus...what were you planning to do for Christmas this year?"

He looked slightly uncomfortable and shrugged. "I thought I'd just stay at Hogwarts. No point in making a trip home just to celebrate Christmas by myself."

Ally took a deep breath and decided to get this over with. "Come stay with us."

Remus hadn't been expecting that. He looked up, surprised. "What?"

"Come stay with us for Christmas. Three people don't come close to filling up this house and I know Celina and Isadora would both love it. And...well...I miss you, Remus. I miss your friendship. I know things can't ever be the way they were before, but I want to at least try to rebuild our friendship. Please, Remus."

"Ally..." he shook his head, and for one moment she thought she saw tears in his eyes. "There's a full moon Christmas night."

"Oh." That threw her off for a second. "Oh, Remus, on Christmas of all nights...I'm sorry." Then she smiled. "So? Celina and I both know how to make the Wolfsbane Potion, and Izzie doesn't have to find out. Our house is big enough to hide five werewolves in. We can spend the rest of the holidays together."

He couldn't help but laugh. "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"

"Merlins never concede defeat, Rem. Except maybe when you shut us up in oak trees. Come home on the train with Izzie, it'll be easiest that way."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Remus felt distinctly out of place among the crowd of happy children and parents at King's Cross. Isadora dodged her way through the crowd with assurance, completely ignoring the odd looks her black cat and broomstick- shaped parcel were earning her, and Remus simply followed, hoping she knew where she was going.

Suddenly, he heard a low, clear voice just behind his ear. "Rem?!"

He turned and blinked in surprise. "Cel?"

Celina was still small and slender, but the black boots she was wearing added about an inch to her height. Above that, she wore tight black leggings, a short black skirt, and a dark green silk blouse. Over everything was a black leather trenchcoat. She was wearing makeup—dark, almost black lipstick, green eyeshadow and too much mascara. Her black hair was longer than the last time he had seen her, falling over her shoulder in a long braid.

He didn't remember her being so attractive. He didn't remember her being so unsettling either. Remus had always been fond of Cel—there had even been a time, before Lily and James' death, when he'd thought he loved her. But as he looked at her now, the first thought that came to mind was of a beautiful snake lazily coiled around a rock, waiting for its prey to come within reach.

Then he looked into her eyes. They were lit up with an almost childlike joy. Then she was in his arms, hugging him tightly, and, as always, he wondered how he could think anything bad about her.

"Remus!" There was joy and annoyance in her voice at the same time. "I told you to keep in touch!" She backed away, but kept hold of him, linking her hand through his arm. Checking to make sure Isadora was with them, she steered him towards the station entrance. "When we get home, you are going to tell me every detail of what you've been up to, and I don't care how boring you think it is. C'mon."

Well, Remus thought as they walked, if nothing else, this Christmas would be more interesting than last year.

A.N.—Promised you Remusy goodness, didn't I? And don't think I've forgotten our dear Sirius, I'll put plenty of him in the next chapter to make up for this one.

Oh, and if you didn't get the oak tree thing, that's how Merlin died in the King Arthur legends. He got shut up in a tree by a sorceress. There's your tidbit of random knowledge for today.