Chapter 3 – The White Wolf Cometh
Remus was miserable. It had been more than a month since Tali had left and he hurt all the time. It was as if he had a bleeding wound that he could never staunch. It was agonizingly painful to be parted from her.
The night of the Full Moon, Severus approached him with a new formulation of the Wolfsbane potion. Considering that the man hated both Werewolves in general and Remus Lupin in particular, he went to a lot of trouble to research improvements on the potion.
After downing a brew that tasted like a cross between licorice and bile, Remus retreated into a locked room to change -- in case he did not retain his mind, there was no need to endanger anyone. When the transformation, far less painful than usual, was done he trotted to the barred door and yipped twice, the code for the fact that his mind was in control.
Severus followed Lupin into the forest. The wolf threw his head back and howled, misery in every note. Even though Remus loved the nights like this, when the cold, the moon, and the forest all combined to a mystic wonderland of shadows and light, he yearned for Tali.
In wolf form he could see no colors, only shades of gray and the swift darting movements of small animals. His sense of smell, though, was increased a thousand-fold and he reveled in the world that opened up to him through scents. But still, he dreamed of her at his side this night.
Remus mourned for Tali's absence with more long shuddering howls. He was restrained from voicing his grief when in Human form by the rules and etiquettes of his society and while he could scent Severus' discomfort from behind him, he felt less inhibited with four paws deep in snow than he did walking upright.
From a distance Remus heard what sounded like an answering call and he raised his head to search for the scent of another wolf. He caught it suddenly, mingled with the scent of human fear and he realized that Snape was in grave danger. He turned swiftly and raced back along his own trail, desperate to reach the wizard before the pack did.
Remus, his gray fur bristling, instincts to fight and kill roused by the heavy musk of the other wolves, leapt into the clearing and stood protectively before Severus. His hackles up and his teeth bared, he faced down the pack. Severus pointed his wand at the nearest wolf and, back to back, they prepared to fight.
The pack leader came at him hard with a couple of the lesser wolves moving around to flank him. With the combination of a man's mind and a wolf's reflexes, Remus had the edge. He bit hard on the jugular of the one on his right and with a quick shake tossed him away while dodging the other two wolves nimbly.
Snape floated himself into a nearby tree and Remus was relieved for his biggest fear was that Severus would be bitten. Leaning out of his tree, Severus sent hex after hex at the attacking pack, protecting Remus' flanks from the other wolves. Remus was a fraction too slow and he felt claws scoring his flank; pain burned through him and he slowed just the tiniest bit, but it was enough -- he needed more help.
Remus felt himself levitating and was then grasped by Snape. He was being cradled by the other wizard and Remus had to fight the wolfish urge to go finish the battle. He sat awkwardly sprawled along a branch and stared down at the attacking wolves. The pack circled below them, growling and whining.
Snape could cast no more hexes while he held Lupin and the pack couldn't climb up to get them. It was a standoff.
Remus smelled a familiar scent but subtly changed. He could not place it but it called to him and he felt the pain in his heart begin to ease. There was another howl from nearby and the pack below the two of them froze. The first call was followed by a second and then the Werewolf pack fled, running with their tails between their legs. Remus wriggled madly in Snape's arms, realizing suddenly what the scent was.
"You don't want me dropping you from this height, Lupin." Snape ground out and Remus relaxed. Remus found himself being carefully levitated from the tree, until he was back on the ground.
Snape dropped down beside him as Lupin stood still and silent, ears pricked forward, listening. The other howl came from much closer and Remus listened, gauging direction and distance.
The scent of summer, a glimmering of white against the black bark of a tree and Remus knew she had returned. She was as beautiful a wolf as she was a woman and Remus was mesmerized for a moment.
He ran up to her and began nuzzling her happily, reveling in her presence. She bounced around him coquettishly and he responded with gleeful abandon.
"In case anyone cares, I am going home." Snape barked out.
Tali edged up and rubbed against Remus and he felt his pain dissolving away. Peering back at himself he noted that both wound and blood were gone and he laughed, tongue out and eyes merry. Gray and white ghostly shapes, they played and danced around the tall, slender, black-clad man who kept up a sullen commentary on their lack of dignity.
The two wolves escorted him home and then ran off to play in the snow.
As dawn broke, Remus led Tali back to his guest room at the castle. He didn't want to transform back and end up naked and freezing in the snow.
As he shifted form, Tali followed and hugged him the instant he was human again. She smelled like snow, wind and girl, as he kissed her hard, needing to be close to her. The ice white of her hair and the deep blue of her eyes, the smooth skin beneath his fingers -- he was as close to heaven as he had ever been.
Her mouth, so shy and sweet before, became demanding and passionate as he kissed her. Her tongue stroked his and fire burned between them. He got to his feet and pulled her up off the floor, tugging her from the front room towards the bedroom.
Done in Gryffindor red and gold, the room that Albus kept for him here was warm and comfortable. He preferred it even to his rooms at Grimmauld Place. Rich red hangings around the bed and deep golden pile carpets on the floor, he had never realized how sensual it was until Tali's eyes went dark with desire. He could feel her arousal as his own and claimed her mouth again with a desperate need.
Her hands moved over his chest, leaving a trail of fire everywhere they touched him. He shivered; the touch on his flesh was paired with a touch against his mind and once more he felt the strange sinking sensation as they flowed together into a synergy of souls.
Her mouth, her hands, her body pressed now against him, the way his own body pressed back, as if they were trying to make the mental union extend to physical, blending bodies as they were blending minds.
He swept her into his arms and tossed her onto the bed, their mutual need too strong to admit gentleness or hesitancy now. She pulled on him as he moved over her, trying to bring his lips to hers, but he dodged her with a feral grin and dropped his mouth to her moist opening. He lapped lightly at first, teasing her with fiery touches that made her hips twitch in desperation. He grabbed her and held her still as he worked, finally catching her nub between his lips and sucking gently. She moaned and cried out; he could feel the spiraling of her pleasure upwards.
He released her with one hand and began stroking her with his fingers, feeling the heat and the wet, arousing her to a fever pitch and then he slipped his finger inside, feeling as she clenched around them. She screamed as he nibbled on her clit, his fingers pumping her hard and fast and they were both overwhelmed by the explosion of her orgasm.
He moved up on top of her, balancing himself on his elbows. She opened beneath him, grasping him and guiding him into her. Pushing into her almost undid his self-control. She was hot and tight and the sensations were overwhelming. He felt her around him and him inside her; the doubled sensory input was beyond anything he had ever experienced.
She wrapped her pale white legs around him and thrust up with her hips, impaling herself fully on his rigid cock. He was the one groaning now, as she dug her fingers into his shoulder blades and murmured his name with desperate need. He thrust harder and harder, driven into frenzy by her mouth on the pulse point of his throat and the wanton passion she displayed.
Her snowy hair across the pillow, her eyes so dark a blue they seemed black, her mouth pink from his kisses and open in a scream of ecstasy -- it was all too much. They came together, a climax so powerful and soul-shaking that they collapsed together and lay stunned.
He lay still sheathed within her, trembling from the aftereffects and their eyes met with equally shaken expressions. He crushed her against him, feeling her own wonder and awe as his own and knew that he could never be parted from her in this life.
They fell asleep still entwined.
He woke slowly and groggily in a bed that was mussed, but he woke alone. He could feel Tali nearby and he followed the tug in his mind into the bathroom. She was twirling in front of the mirror and staring at her reflection with great interest. He was not quite awake so it took him about five minutes for his mind to register what he was seeing.
Tali's hair had darkened to a pale gold and her skin had taken on a flush of pink and rose. When she turned to meet his startled gaze, her hair cascading over her shoulders still had the airy lightness of before, but her brows and lashes were now golden, making her eyes seem less out of place on her face.
"What happened?" He asked in curiosity. She was still his lovely Tali whatever her coloring, of course, but he was curious.
"You did." She laughed at him. "As we join more closely our outward selves will reflect the inner. She tugged him before the mirror and he saw that some of the gray had left his hair and the lines had smoothed from his brow. He looked five years younger. He felt a soft peace steal over him and pulled her against him with a smile. The peace came from her he knew, but he welcomed it.
"I love you." He murmured. It was redundant to speak aloud; she could feel his heart's truth in her own heart, but the words had power too. She snuggled against him.
"Alihah Orenah Dare." 'I love you, too' he heard the echo of the words translated in his mind and smiled.
"We will need to disguise her true origins, of course. Fudge would have a fit if he knew she was an Elder." Albus commented. There was a general agreement, then "We will settle her at headquarters." There were more agreements all around.
"So what do we tell people? That she's a Muggle?" Kathryn crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. Everyone but Albus looked at her in surprise. "Well, she doesn't use a wand, hasn't gone to a magical school and isn't registered with the ministry, what else can we tell them?" Albus was nodding as she spoke.
"I was planning on saying she was a late bloomer that we discovered." Remus nodded slowly; it was a good idea. After all, every hundred years or so someone would spontaneously develop his or her magical abilities at a very late age. People as old as forty and fifty would suddenly find things breaking or exploding around them. These people were quickly whisked off to the magical world for training and concealment. It was as good a story as any.
"Then she will need a wand." Minerva looked pointedly at Remus who blushed even with Tali's gentle support in the back of his mind. Wands were expensive, Remus mused, and he was quite poor. Working for the Order didn't pay very well; well actually, it didn't pay at all and he hadn't held a job since Snape had spilled the beans about him.
"I will see to it." Albus interjected gently. Remus shot the elderly wizard a grateful smile. Tali seemed confused by the whole exchange. He could feel how perplexed she was by the concepts that ran through his mind; he would have much to teach her.
"Don't forget to register her as an animagus as well." Severus mentioned to Albus as they filed out of the office. "It will help Lupin with his job situation when he is married to her." Remus was stunned by Snape's thoughtfulness. Perhaps he really was warming to Remus, or, he thought with a sideways glance at Tali, he was just a sucker for a pretty girl. Tali's laughter warmed him to the toes as they headed off for Diagon Alley.