Remus held off a bit on sending Catherine an owl - mostly because he was surprised at how much he wanted to write that he would be coming right away. Then he wondered whether she knew he was a werewolf - although it seemed likely since Sirius had obviously trusted her with quite a bit of information about the Marauders - and whether it was fair to her to accept her invitation without making sure it was not one she would regret issuing later.
He found himself staring thankfully at his new robes before putting them away in the bureau after he did the laundry, and told himself sternly that his behavior was becoming quite ridiculous. Instead of writing to Catherine, he wrote a note to Harry, telling himself that he didn't need to make a decision about visiting Stone House right away.
Trying to distract himself, Remus finally accepted Arthur and Molly's invitation to supper. Remus enjoyed the homelike clutter of The Burrow, Molly's wonderful cooking, and Arthur's refreshingly childlike enthusiasm for Muggle objects. Alastor, Kingsley, and Tonks joined them as well, and Remus was having a very pleasant evening in this convivial company until it occurred to him with a sudden flash of insight that Molly had arranged Tonks' presence for his benefit. It would have been more noticeable if she had arranged for an even number of men and women, but Molly was quite shrewd enough to avoid anything that obvious.
What Remus could not figure out was why Molly would think he and Tonks were well-matched. The young woman gamboled about cheerfully, reminding Remus of an enthusiastic and affectionate puppy, clumsily eager to please. While there were some similarities in their professional interests, Remus felt that the obvious disparities in their ages and experiences rather negated that as a potential foundation for a relationship. Remus liked teaching very well, but he wasn't interested in acquiring his own personal student as either a girlfriend or a wife.
He wondered wryly if he was getting too staid.
While Molly was taking care of the dishes, have firmly refused all offers of assistance - including Tonks' very earnest one - Remus was able to bring up a subject he had been wanted to introduce for some time.
"I understand that you might be visiting Stone House over the summer," he said to Arthur very casually, partly as this was not a secure area for conversation about Order business and partly for reasons of his own.
"Oh, yes, we're looking forward to it," his host said cheerfully. "A pleasant break for Molly, too, with the house-elves taking care of everything. Very nice of Catherine to offer, especially with so many of us. She's asked you too?"
"Yes, she did, but my plans for the summer are not settled yet," Remus replied lightly.
"Capable woman," Moody pronounced gruffly. "Good reputation when she was an Auror, not that that's anything to judge by. Said it to me herself: 'Reputation only addresses whether you've been found out!'"
"I didn't know she had been an Auror," Remus said.
"Quit some time ago. Switched to prosecution instead. Weird rules they have there, but after watching Fudge foul things up, well, you have to admit the American system has its advantages. Not very efficient, though."
"Mum remembers a bit about a wedding at Stone House," Tonks chimed in unexpectedly. Arthur frowned in concentration.
"Now that you mention it, I may have gone too." He shook his head dismissively. "Too young to remember much about it, I guess."
Alastor Moody chuckled unexpectedly. "Only excuse for not remembering it I'd believe, saving a Memory Charm! Biggest damn show I've ever seen. People talked about it for years. Live griffins - not transfigured, mind - for a ceremonial flyover. Full orchestra for the ceremony, and the Genoa Gypsies and Clarinda Lark for the reception! Gardens decorated with every charm on the market, and more food than I've ever seen in my life. Looked like old Wilamber was prepared to feed every person attending the Quidditch World Cup."
"Whose wedding was it?" Remus asked.
"When Miranda Valens married Richard Clare," Moody grinned. "Funniest thing I've ever seen."
"Mum didn't mention that," Tonks said with interest.
"Probably too young to the humor in it," Moody admitted.
Arthur looked mildly surprised. "I always thought it was supposed to be a good match."
"Oh, it was," Moody assented. "Surprised a few people at the time - Miranda had a pretty fiery temper, and a lot of folks underestimated Richard, him being the quiet type - but he always knew which way his wand was pointing! Only man I ever met who could handle Miranda, and she was smart enough to know it. Handled her father too, come to think of it."
"So why was the wedding funny?" Tonks asked, obviously puzzled. A devilish gleam appeared in Moody's real eye before he answered.
"Old Wilamber throwing Galleons around like water, and he still couldn't buy the only thing he wanted!" Moody chortled. "Damnedest thing I ever saw! Richard wanted to be independent and Miranda backed him to the hilt, no matter what her father offered to keep them here. No marriage settlements, no house, no cushy job, no vault full of Galleons. Only thing they took was the wedding, and the smart money said Richard had to talk Miranda into that. She hated that sort of fuss, but he thought they should go along with it for her parents' sake."
Moody took another swallow from his ever-present hip flask and pursed his lips. "Strange thing is, Wilamber and Richard got on fine later," he continued, "once he stopped trying to make his decisions for him, that is. Old Wilamber died before Michael was born, and he left every last Sickle to little Catherine instead of Miranda - but with Richard as the trustee! Heard Miranda was pleased as punch about it. Damned odd streak in that family."
"Maybe she was just happy to know her father liked him," Tonks said brightly.
"Some people have been known to overlook that point when the control of a large estate is involved," Kingsley pointed out with some humor.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
When Arthur and Molly settled on a date for their transfer from The Burrow to Stone House for the summer, Remus decided to owl Catherine that he was accepting her invitation and would arrive the same day as the Weasleys. It would still give him time to work on the Pensieve before Harry's birthday without his arriving too far in advance of the majority of the other members of the Order. When the day came at last, he said good-bye to Uncle Bertie, finished closing and locking up the house, and set off for Stone House with his new robes packed neatly in his battered trunk.
He arrived at almost the same time the Weasleys did. He could see Catherine greeting Arthur, Molly, and Bill on the front steps just as he was heading in for a landing. As he dismounted, Arthur was still talking excitedly to their hostess while Molly was directing her large assortment of trunks and her only available offspring with a motherly air. Bill winked companionably at Remus as he mounted the steps.
"Remus, how nice to see you," Catherine Clare told him, clasping his hand warmly. "I'm so glad you could come."
"I'm very pleased to be here. It was most kind of you to invite me." He stepped back as soon as she had greeted him to allow her to turn back to the Weasleys for a moment.
"Arthur, I've put you and Molly in northwest wing." Remus thought he saw a momentary appraisal in her glance before she called lightly, "Knoggin?" and an enthusiastic young house-elf appeared, smiling up at her.
"Knoggin, I'd like you to show the Weasleys to their rooms now, if you don't mind. They are very important guests, and I would like you personally to make sure that they're properly taken care of. Will you do that for me?" Knoggin swelled importantly as she spoke, and Remus thought humorously that he looked as if he might have burst from excitement if she hadn't stopped when she did.
"Oh, yes, Miss Catherine, Knoggin will take good care of the Weasleys for you." In an instant, the luggage vanished and Knoggin was addressing himself deferentially to Arthur, "If Sir will follow Knoggin, Knoggin will take you to your rooms?" The young house-elf led them proudly off, Arthur following obediently in his wake, accompanied by his wife and oldest son. Now that the mass of luggage was out of her sight, Molly looked quite relieved.
Catherine turned back to Remus. "Shall I show you up now?" she asked. "You can leave your broom first if you like." Remus smiled his acknowledgment, leaving his broom in its now-accustomed place just off the main hall and following his hostess. Rather to his surprise, she did not lead him up one of the four main staircases, but down the hall toward her study.
"I've put you in a rather unusual room," she told him as they walked, "but it had some advantages I thought you might appreciate, one of which is that it's very convenient to the lab. There's another staircase that leads right up to it that I wanted to show you, so I thought we'd go up that way." Catherine Clare had reached the end of the hall, and Remus recalled that they had passed through another room on the way to her study; they were re-entering it now.
"You can get to the lab directly right through those doors," she told him, gesturing at another set of double doors leading off of the room. Glancing around quickly, he saw that it was cheerfully decorated in yellow, blue, and white, and contained a number of small desks and some comfortable looking reading chairs. Catherine started up the elegant spiral staircase he hadn't noticed when he passed through the room previously.
Following her, he emerged near a cozy seating area in an upper corridor. There were large expanses of glass looking out to the east as well as to the hallway that bisected the house. She pushed open some double doors on the south wall and stepped aside to let him enter.
He took only a few steps before he stopped. He was facing a breathtaking view through an enormous wall of glass that curved away in front of him, and he realized with a start that this room encompassed all of the glass curve that formed one of the corners of the Stone House. The view from Catherine's study below had comprised only a part. As he regained his bearings, he managed to take in other details about the room - the welcoming seating area in front of the fireplace, the quilted duvet cover with accents of coral and aqua on a soothing background of ivory and sand, the comfortable desk adjoining a wall of bookshelves - but it was the view that had captured his attention so completely the moment he stepped in the room.
Catherine had followed him in, and seemed slightly disconcerted by his reaction.
"I can easily move you down the hall if you prefer," she was telling him, as he continued to stand there immobile. "I know that so much light can be a little - "
"It's beautiful," he interrupted. "I love it. Thank you." She smiled, and he thought she looked rather relieved.
"Tea will be in the family room - it's the corner room on the rear left side of the central hall - if you'd like to join us when you have a chance to freshen up," she told him, excusing herself and leaving him to unpack.
This he managed very quickly - he hadn't brought very much anyway - leaving him with plenty of time to enjoy a relaxing soak in the private bath he hadn't even seen in his first view of the room. It was behind the wall on which the bed was located, and accessible from either side. He now understood what Catherine had meant when she described the room as unusual, but he thought it was cleverly laid out with great attention paid to occupant's comfort. It was also a great relief to know why she had described the room that way, as her choice of words had brought up a number of irrational fears.
There were half a dozen people for tea - Moody joined them as well - which Remus later came to think of as an unusually small group. Even before school let out for the summer holidays, most of the members of the Order of the Phoenix were in and out from time to time, although Dumbledore and the members of the staff never stayed overnight during the school term. Catherine simply set aside rooms for each of them to use when they were there, and they came and went according to their individual schedules.
Tonks, who was assigned the room next to his - Remus wondered if Molly Weasley had anything to do with that - stayed at Stone House most of the time. Sturgis Podmore, who seemed to regard it as a safe haven of sorts, spent most of his time there as well. Although he was noticeably better than he had been the previous winter, the aftereffects of his time in Azkaban still lingered, and Remus kept a careful - albeit unobtrusive - watch on him.
Dedalus Diggle and Elphias Doge both had families of their own, and stayed only when coming off duty too late to justify the trip home. Arabella Figg generally remained in her home on Privet Drive during the week, but always came for at least the weekend. The older woman seemed to enjoy herself greatly during her visits, and Remus wondered if there were any members of her original family left. In some ways, she was more cut off from the magical community than he was, so Remus tried to make her feel welcome when he could.
As life at Stone House settled into a routine for the summer, Remus turned his attention more fully to the matter of preparing Sirius' Pensieve for Harry's birthday.
Catherine Clare had been able to supply him with additional Pensieves to facilitate the sorting. He was rather surprised to find that she had access to additional ones until he found, on closer examination, that "Property of the U.S. Magic Department, Justice Division, Office of the Prosecutor General" was stamped in tiny letters around the base of each one.
Remus set a schedule for himself, trying to make sure he put in enough time working on the Pensieve to ensure it was ready in time. He was rather dismayed to find that he had underestimated the number of Dementor memories in the Pensieve. He had hoped to enjoy the exercise of separating the bad memories from the good ones, but there were so many more of the former to sort through that he started wondering if he should be rationing the latter. He didn't want to run out of good memories while he was still struggling through the bad ones.
One afternoon while he was considering this, his thoughts strayed to Catherine, and he was surprised to see her image appear in the Pensieve. He stared at it for a moment in shock, feeling something clench painfully within. Then, refusing to allow himself to put it off, he plunged in.
Sirius was prowling restlessly around a room that Remus did not recognize. Remus studied Padfoot's appearance for clues, and quickly decided that this must be a memory from the summer between Harry's third and fourth years. Sirius looked much older than most of Remus' memories of him that pre-dated Grimmauld Place, and his eyes held lingering traces of that haunted look Remus had seen in them that night in the Shrieking Shack. But his face was filling out, and he looked much healthier, striding across the room with the loose-limbed gait of a natural athlete.
Remus followed Sirius as he wandered out on to a low balcony overlooking a small pool - and there was Catherine, moving easily through the water. The pool was delightfully secluded from the neighbors, lush tropical landscaping it screening it from view and muffling the sounds in the distance. Sirius relaxed a little as he felt the last rays of the evening sun on his skin, and some of the tension ebbed from his face.
Remus wondered why Sirius had included this memory in the Pensieve; it seemed in many ways to be a very ordinary one, but then Remus turned to watch Catherine, and found himself entranced. She was wearing a perfectly respectable once-piece swimsuit in a conservative cut, but there was something about the way the underwater lights of the pool cast her figure in silhouette as she moved through the water -
With great discipline, Remus forced himself to turn back to Sirius and found his friend watching Catherine with a dawning wonder in his eyes.
Then Sirius started to smile, and the smile became an outright grin, and then he was laughing out loud in sheer, exuberant delight. As he laughed, he threw his head back, and the slight shift in his stance, coupled with a soft ripple of evening air against his robes, explained everything.
Remus' eyes flew to Catherine, wondering whether he ought to set the remainder of this memory aside unseen. She hadn't seemed to realize Sirius was there until the sound of his joy rang out in the still of the evening. Glancing over at the balcony in the dim light, Catherine hoisted herself out of the pool and casually cast a Drying Charm.
"You sound happy," she called to Sirius, who was still some distance from her.
"I am," he told her, still grinning like a madman. He leaned down to talk to her more easily, bracing his forearms on the balcony railing and allowing his robes to swing forward in concealment.
"I've just recovered something I thought the Dementors had taken from me a long time ago," Sirius told her in his still-raspy voice.
"A good memory?" Catherine asked idly, slipping on a house robe.
"Something like that," Sirius answered, still grinning.
Much to Remus' relief, the memory ended there, and he caught the wisp of silver on the tip of his wand as he tried to decide what to do. Not yet, he decided, moving it to the appropriate Pensieve. Maybe when Harry's older. He ignored the tiny voice in the back of his mind that questioned whether he would ever want Harry to see this particular memory.
Now that they were once again living in the same house, Remus got to spend time with Catherine again, although not nearly as much as before. With so many other people in and out of Stone House, it would have been rude of him to monopolize too much of his hostess' time.
Other than during meals, he was most likely to get to see her in the evenings. The group tended to retire to the family room after dinner, where people could relax and chat around the fire, listen to the light music Hestia produced playing softly on the piano when she was in the mood, or play games at the table according to their dispositions.
Remus particularly enjoyed playing games, which reminded him of their time together before, even if Catherine didn't remember it. The games were now group games instead of two-player ones, and Molly's professed interest in card games meant that they tended to play those - they hadn't even brought out the Tournament board once yet - but Remus was pleased to participate just the same.
He found out as time passed that Tonks, who often joined them as well, had a definite preference for the card games Molly proposed, and felt a momentary wave of affectionate exasperation with the red-headed matchmaker. He knew she meant well, but he would prefer to choose for himself and do his own courting when the time came - not that he was in a position to court anyone at the moment. If he were honest about it, he wasn't likely to be at any foreseeable time in the future, but he resolutely put the thought out of his mind.
All he was doing at the moment, he told himself, was enjoying Catherine's company and the chance to develop their friendship. He really didn't need to think about anything else at present - or wonder what her relationship with Sirius had been.